DAVID 
LIVINGSTONE 

C.SILYESTER 
HORNE 


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THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


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DAVID  I4VINGSTONB. 


DAVID   LIVINGSTONE 


e:  SILVESTER  HORNE,  M.P. 


WITJ/  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Nf»  fork 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1918 


1 


HACMILLAN   AND   CO.,    LiMim 

LONDON  .    BOMBAY  .  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

NSW  YORK  .  BOSTON  .  CHICAGO 
DALLAS  .  SAN  PKANCtSCO 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  hm, 

TORONTO 


Ail  tijfbts  reiervtd 


/ 


PREFACE 

On  March  19th,  191 3,  a  hundred  years  will  have 
passed  since  David  Livingstone  was  born.  It  is 
only  forty  years  since  his  body  was  carried  by 
faithful  hands  from  the  centre  of  Africa  to  the 
coast  that  he  might  be  buried  among  his  peers  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  In  those  forty  years  great 
and  astounding  changes  have  been  witnessed  in 
the  Continent  which  is  associated  with  his  fame. 
The  campaign  he  fought  against  the  slave-system 
that  desolated  the  vast  district  drained  by  the 
Zambesi  had  to  be  renewed  to  free  the  population 
on  the  banks  of  the  Congo,  Southern  Africa  has 
been  reconstructed  and  consolidated.  The  Upper 
and  the  Lower  Nile  have  witnessed  many  strange 
vicissitudes  of  history.  Other  names  have 
become  great  in  men's  mouths.  Some  have  been 
associated  with  vast  political  enterprises ;  while 
some,  with  a  disinterestedness  as  noble  as  Living- 
stone's, have  been  at  once  the  pioneers  and  the 
martyrs  of  a  Christian  civilisation.  But  nothing 
that  has  happened  since  has  diminished  by  a  single 


via -3 


-5'23 


VI  PREFACE 

laurel  the  wreath  he  won,  and  will  wear  for  ever. 
With  every  decade  his  fame  greatens ;  and  what- 
ever our  views  on  African  problems  may  be,  we 
may  all  agree  that  her  white  population  may  well 
pray  for  a  double  portion  of  his  spirit  At  first  it 
seemed  unnecessary  to  re-write  his  life.  The  task 
has  been  so  well  fulfilled  by  many  sympathetic 
biographers.  For  anyone  who  has  the  patience 
and  the  leisure  it  is  to  be  found  recorded  in  the 
fascinating  pages  of  his  journals.  But  it  is  so 
great  a  possession  that  there  seemed  to  be  room 
for  yet  another  attempt  to  present  it  to  those  in 
our  busy  century  who  ask  for  short  measure  and  a 
clear,  simple  narrative  of  facts.  This  is  what  the 
present  biography  aspires  to  be.  The  author  has 
aimed  not  so  much  at  telling  the  story  as  at 
allowing  the  story  to  tell  itself.  It  may  be  added 
that,  in  the  belief  of  the  writer,  Livingstone  is 
greatest,  not  as  a  scientist,  nor  an  explorer,  but  as  a 
man  and  a  missionary. 


CONTENTS 

FAGK 

Chapter        I i 

Chapter      II 22 

Chapter     III 54 

Chapter      IV 66 

Chapter      V 85 

Chapter     VI *  106 

Chapter    VII 138 

Chapter  VIII      ...       • 165 

Chapter     IX 179 

Chapter       X 191 

Chapter     XI— Characteristics       ....  229 

Index     ....-.•..  345 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGB 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE Frontisfnece 

THE     CLYDE    AND    RUINS    OF     THE    OLD    MILL    AT 

BLANTYRE. I3 

WHERE  LIVINGSTONE  LIVED  AT  ONGAR         ,  .  .13 

LIVINGSTONE  ATTACKED  BY  A  LION        .        •  .  .       32 

PREACHING  ON  THE  JOURNEY  UP-COUNTRY  .  .       ^^ 

THE  TRAGEDY  OF  CENTRAL  AFRICA  .         .        ',  .  161 

"  I  READ  THE  BIBLE  THR0U6H  FOUR  TIMES  WHILST 

I  WAS  IN  MANYUEMA  " 169 

THE  MANYUEMA  AMBUSCADE I75 

STANLEY  FINDS  LIVINGSTONE 181 

ON  THE  LAST  MARCH 211 

CARRYING  THE  BODY  TO  THE  SEA  ....     223 

MAP  OF  LIVINGSTONE'S  JOURNEYS  IN  AFRICA     .       At  end 


DR.  LIVINGSTONE 

CHAPTER  I 

The  year  1813  in  which  my  story 
opens  was  a  momentous  one  in  the 
history  of  Europe.  The  titanic  struggle 
with  Napoleon  was  nearing  its  crisis. 
Victor  at  Lutzen  and  Bautzen,  he  had  been 
defeated  at  Leipzig,  on  one  of  the  bloodiest 
battlefields  in  modern  warfare.  Away  in 
the  Pyrenees,  Wellington  was  grappling 
with  Soult,  and  step  by  step  driving  him 
back  on  to  French  soil.  Among  those  who 
were  fighting  in  the  ranks  of  the  British 
army  were  at  least  two  men  bearing  the 
name  of  Livingstone.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  they  even  heard,  amid  the  excite- 
ment and  peril  of  the  time,  that  away  in 
peaceful  far   Blantyre,  and  in  their   brother 


2  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

Neil's  home,  a  lad  had  been  born,  and 
christened  by  the  good,  sound  scriptural 
name  of  David.  Yet  it  may  come  to  be 
believed  some  day  that  the  birth  of  David 
Livingstone  was  of  more  vital  influence 
upon  the  destiny  of  the  world  even  than  the 
battle  in  which  Napoleon's  star  set  in  blood 
two  years  later.  For  to  open  up  a  continent, 
and  lead  the  way  in  the  Christianisation  of 
its  countless  millions  was  one  of  the  "  more 
renowned"  victories  of  peace — a  more 
difficult  and  notable  achievement  than  to 
overthrow  one  form  of  military  domination 
in  Europe. 

The  family  of  Livingstones  or  Livingstons 
— for  David  Livingstone  himself  spelt  his 
name  for  many  years  without  the  final  "  e  " — 
came  from  the  Island  of  Ulva  off  the  coast 
of  Argyllshire.  Not  much  of  interest  is 
known  about  them  except  that  one  of  them 
died  at  Culloden  fighting  for  the  Stuarts  ;  so 
that  the  "fighting  blood  "  in  their  veins  had 
its  way  with  them  before  David's  more 
immediate  kinsmen  crossed  the  seas  to  the 
Peninsula.     The  most  distinguished  member 


I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  3 

of  the  family  inherited  the  Highlander's 
daring  and  love  of  exploits  combined  with 
the  most  pacific  spirit,  and  left  behind  him 
an  unstained  record  as  an  explorer  who 
never  lifted  his  hand  to  do  hurt  to  anyone 
through  all  the  perils  of  his  adventurous 
career.  Towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century  his  grandfather  had  crossed  from 
Ulva  and  settled  in  Blantyre,  a  village  on 
the  Clyde  that  had  certainly  no  romantic 
attraction.  He  was  employed  in  a  cotton 
factory  there.  Most  of  his  sons  went  off  to 
the  wars  ;  but  one  of  them,  Neil,  settled  in 
Blantyre  as  a  dealer  in  tea.  He  had  been 
previously  apprenticed  to  David  Hunter,  a 
tailor  ;  and,  as  many  a  good  apprentice  has 
done  before  him,  married  his  master's 
daughter.  Neil  Livingstone  and  his  brave 
wife  had  a  hard  fight  of  it  to  make  a  living 
out  of  a  small  tea  business,  and  to  educate 
and  rear  their  children.  Two  of  the 
children  died  in  infancy  ;  but  three  sons  and 
two  daughters  grew  up  in  that  humble  home. 
David  was  the  second  son.  He  was  born 
on  March   19th,  181 3. 


4  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

The  small  struggling  tradesman  has  had 
little  justice  done  to  him  either  by  the 
novelist  or  by  common  repute.  He  is 
usually  represented  as  a  man  who  cannot 
afford  to  keep  a  soul,  and  whose  interests  are 
limited  to  sordid  and  petty  transactions 
across  a  counter,  not  always  nor  often  of  a 
scrupulous  and  honourable  character.  The 
reputation  is  very  ill-deserved.  The  small 
shop  has  proved  itself  as  good  a  training 
ground  as  any  other  for  scholars,  and  saints 
and  heroes ;  and,  but  for  the  fact  that  our 
prejudices  die  hard,  we  should  recognise  that 
it  is  so.  Neil  Livingstone  and  his  wife  may 
have  lived  a  narrow  life,  serving  faithfully 
their  customers  and  dividing  their  interests 
between  their  family,  their  business,  and  the 
little  Independent  Chapel  of  which  Neil 
Livingstone  was  a  Deacon.  But  they  found 
their  sphere  large  enough  for  the  practice  of 
the  fundamental  Christian  virtues,  as  well  as 
for  the  noblest  of  all  interests — the  interest 
in  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
throughout  the  world.  There  was  one 
family  tradition  of  which  David  Livingstone 


I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  5 

was  immensely  proud.  A  saying  had  come 
down  to  them  attributed  to  an  ancestor  that 
in  all  the  family  history  there  was  no  record 
of  any  dishonest  man.  When  Deacon  Neil 
Livingstone  and  his  wife  had  passed  away, 
the  epitaph  on  their  grave  recorded  the 
gratitude  of  their  children  for  "poor  and 
honest  parents."  In  this  simple  and  public 
fashion  they  expressed  their  thanks  for  the 
honesty  of  one  who,  when  he  sold  a  pound  of 
tea,  gave  neither  short  weight,  nor  an 
adulterated  article.  They  also  gave  thanks 
for  the  poverty  of  their  parents,  recognising 
in  poverty  one  of  those  hard  but  kind 
necessities  that  make  for  industry  and 
courage  and  patience ;  and  that  the  children 
of  the  poor  oftener  leave  the  world  their 
debtor  for  serviceable  activities  than  the 
children  of  the  well-to-do,  who  have  less 
spur  to  their  ambitions.  It  was  eminently 
characteristic  of  David  Livingstone  that  he 
should  thus  avow  his  thanks  for  the  honesty 
and  poverty  of  his  father  and  mother. 
There  are  those  still  living  who  recall  the 
manly  pride   with   which  he  was  wont   to 


6  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

refer    to    "my    own    order,     the    honest 
poor." 

The  mother  of  David  Livingstone  was  a 
woman  of  great  charm  and  force  of  character 
— "  a  delicate  little  woman,  with  a  wonder- 
ful flow  of  good  spirits."  In  her,  rare 
devoutness  and  sterling  common  sense  were 
combined.  She  was  the  careful  and  thrifty 
housewife,  who  had  to  make  every  sixpence 
go  as  far  as  possible ;  but  she  was  re- 
membered for  her  unfailing  cheerfulness  and 
serenity,  and  there  was  always  something  to 
be  saved  out  of  the  meagre  income  when  the 
work  of  the  Church  of  Christ  needed  extra 
support.  She  came  of  Covenanting  stock, 
and  her  father,  David  Hunter,  the  tailor, 
received  his  first  religious  impressions  at  an 
open-air  service,  held  while  the  snow  was 
falling  fast,  and  used  to  tell  that  so  absorbed 
was  he  in  the  realisation  of  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel,  that,  though  before  the  end  of 
the  sermon  the  snow  was  ankle-deep,  he  had 
no  sensation  of  cold.  He  lived  to  be  eighty- 
seven,  was  a  close  and  prolific  reader,  bore 
severe  reverses  of  fortune  with  unflinching 


I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  7 

courage,  and  earned  the  high  respect  of  the 
countryside. 

It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  what  David 
Livingstone  owed  to  the  stock  from  which 
he  sprang  and  the  bracing  influences  of  his 
early  environment.  There  were  two  draw- 
backs to  his  home  education.  It  seems  that 
the  Deacon  had  put  two  classes  of  book  on 
his  private  index  expurgatorius,  as  being 
dangerous — novels,  and  books  of  science. 
So  far  as  novels  are  concerned  the  harm 
done  was  probably  slight ;  for  no  one  is  well- 
read  in  the  Bible  and  the  Pilgrim's  Progress 
without  receiving  a  liberal  education,  and 
the  cultivation  of  the  imagination ;  while 
history,  biography,  books  of  travel,  and 
missionary  records  amply  served  the  same 
purpose.  But  the  proscription  of  books  of 
science  was  an  evidence  of  the  old  evil 
creed  that  there  is  essential  antagonism 
between  science  and  religion.  This 
assumption  came  near  to  doing  David 
permanent  injury.  His  religious  difficulties 
did  not  disappear  until  in  his  own  words 
•'having  lighted  on   those  admirable  works 


8  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

of  Dr.  Thomas  Dick,  '  The  Philosophy  of 
Religion,'  and  '  The  Philosophy  of  a  Future 
State '  it  was  gratifying  to  find  that  he  had 
enforced  my  own  conviction  that  religion  and 
science  were  friendly  to  one  another."  Few 
people  in  the  nineteenth  century  were 
destined  to  do  more  towards  the  practical 
reconciliation  of  science  and  religion  than 
David  Livingstone. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  even  in  his 
very  young  days  he  had  a  mind  and  will  of 
his  own,  and  that  not  even  the  love  and 
respect  he  felt  for  his  father  could  shake  his 
own  conviction  of  truth.  The  last  time 
his  father  *'  applied  the  rod "  was  when 
David  refused  to  read  "  Wilber  force's 
Practical  Christianity."  The  boy  thought 
the  matter  over  in  his  canny  Scotch  way,  and 
concluded  that,  on  the  whole,  the  rod  was 
the  less  severe  form  of  punishment.  So  he 
took  the  rod,  and  refused  a  religious  book 
for  which  he  had  no  use.  Looking  back 
upon  his  own  religious  development  in  after 
years,  he  used  to  confess  that  at  this  stage 
he  was   "colour-blind."     When   he  was  led 


1  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  9 

to  see  that  God  and  Nature  are  **  not  at 
strife,"  and  that  God  does  not  say  one  thing 
to  the  theologian  and  its  contrary  to  the 
scientist,  he  accepted  in  his  own  simple  and 
sincere  way  the  Christian  Gospel,  and  drew 
from  it  the  same  splendid  faith  in  the 
universality  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  that  in- 
spired the  souls  of  the  first  apostles.  To  David 
Livingstone,  to  become  a  Christian  was  to 
become  in  spirit  and  desire  a  missionary.  It 
is  only  necessary  to  add  that  the  faith  which 
he  accepted  with  the  full  consent  of  heart 
and  mind  as  a  lad  in  Blantyre  was  the  faith 
in  which  he  died. 

The  days  of  David  Livingstone's  boyhood 
were  great  days  for  missions.  The 
churches  were  everywhere  awakening  to 
their  opportunity  and  responsibility.  A 
new  "Acts  of  the  Apostles"  was  being 
written.  Letters  from  remote  parts  of  the 
world,  where  the  ancient  battle  between 
Christ  and  heathenism  was  being  fought 
out  anew,  were  eagerly  read  and  deeply 
pondered.  The  romance  and  heroism  of 
the  majestic  campaign  captured  and  kindled 


lo  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

both  young  and  old.  The  year  of 
Livingstone's  birth  was  a  year  of  singular 
triumph  in  the  South  Seas.  It  was  the 
year  when  his  great  countryman  Robert 
Morrison  completed  his  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  into  Chinese.  When  he 
was  some  six  or  seven  years  old,  another 
famous  Scotch  missionary,  Robert  Moffat, 
was  settling  on  the  Kuruman ;  and  Mrs. 
Moffat  bore  in  her  arms  a  baby  girl 
destined  to  become  David  Livingstone's 
wife.  The  life  of  Henry  Marty n  was  a 
supreme  call  to  consecration ;  while  the 
story  of  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  the 
Moravian  missions  was  almost  as  familiar 
in  that  humble  Scottish  home  as  the  history 
of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

A  specially  powerful  influence  in  moving 
Livingstone  to  his  life-decision  was  the 
appeal  of  Charles  Gutzlaff  for  medical 
missionaries  for  China. 

Livingstone  was  a  born  naturalist ;  and 
despite  his  father's  old-fashioned  prejudices, 
he  made  himself  a  scientist  at  a  very  early  age, 
searching  old  quarries  for  the  shells  in  the 


I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ii 

carboniferous  limestone,  "  scouring  Clyde- 
side  for  simples,"  and  arranging  the  flora  of 
the  district  in  botanical  order.  These 
expeditions  were  often  very  prolonged,  and 
involved  the  endurance  of  fatigue  and 
hunger;  but  the  lad  could  not  be  discour- 
aged. Unconsciously  he  was  bracing  him- 
self physically  for  the  toils  and  tasks  of  after 
years.  There  is  a  fine  story  about  the 
revenge  he  took  upon  his  native  African 
escort,  on  one  occasion,  who  had  been 
misguided  enough  to  talk  disrespectfully  about 
his  slim  figure  and  shortness  of  stature. 
Thereupon,  Livingstone  took  them  along  for 
two  or  three  days  at  the  top  of  their  speed 
till  they  cried  out  for  mercy !  He  had  not 
scoured  Clyde-side  for  simples  for  nothing. 
His  fearlessness  is  well  illustrated  in  his 
daring  and  reckless  exploit  of  climbing  the 
ruins  of  Bothwell  Castle,  so  that  he  might 
carve  his  name  higher  than  any  other 
boy  had  carved  his.  There,  too,  was  the 
childlike  ambition,  which  remained  with  him 
to  the  end,  to  do  something  which  nobody 
else  could  surpass.     "  No  one,"  he  wrote  at 


12  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  i 

the  very  end  of  his  life,  on  his  last  expedi- 
tion, "  will  cut  me  out  after  this  exploration 
is  accomplished."  Then  he  adds  finely,  "  and 
may  the  good  Lord  of  all  help  me  to  show 
myself  one  of  his  stout-hearted  servants,  an 
honour  to  my  children,  and  perhaps  to  my 
country  and  race."  The  story  of  Livingstone 
is  told  there:  it  is  the  story  of  one  of  the 
good  Lord's  stout-hearted  servants. 

All  the  drudgery  and  hardship  of  his  lot 
went  to  make  him  the  man  he  was.  The 
days  of  his  boyhood  were  "the  good  old 
days  " — ^the  days  when  children  of  ten  years 
old  were  sent  to  work  in  the  factories ;  and 
David  went  with  the  rest.  No  eight  hours* 
day  his !  No  humane  legislature  thought  it 
wise  and  well  to  forbid  or  curtail  child  labour. 
From  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  eight 
o'clock  at  night  he  worked  as  a  piecer  ;  and  all 
the  world  knows  how  he  used  to  place  the  book 
he  was  studying  on  a  portion  of  the  spin- 
ning-jenny, and  snatch  a  sentence  or  two  as 
he  passed  at  his  work.  He  tells  us  he  thus 
kept  **  a  pretty  constant  study,  undisturbed  by 
the  roar  of  machinery,"  and  that  this  habit 


THE  CLYDE  AND   RUINS  OF  THE  OLD  MILL  AT  BLANTYRE. 


WHERE  LIVINGSTONE  LIVED  AT  ONGAR- 
»3 


14  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

of  concentration  stood  him  in  good  stead  in 
after  years  when  he  wanted  to  read  and 
write  even  "  amidst  the  dancing  and  song  of 
savages."  As  if  this  were  not  enough,  after 
a  fourteen  hours'  day  in  the  factory  he  would 
go  off  to  a  night-school  provided  by  the 
employers ;  and  then  home  to  work  at  his 
Latin  till  "  mother  put  out  the  candle."  It 
is  well  for  ten-year-old  humanity  when  it  has 
a  mother  to  put  out  the  candle,  or  Mother 
Nature  might  have  put  out  another  candle, 
and  where  would  Africa  have  been  then  ? 
Nine  years  of  such  severe  and  determined 
work  as  this  brought  him  to  University  age  ; 
and  as  Glasgow  University  was  hard  by, 
and  as  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  spinner  by 
this  time  and  able  to  earn  enough  in  the 
summer  to  keep  him  during  the  other  six 
months,  he  entered  as  a  student  for  Greek 
and  medicine,  and  seems  to  have  success- 
fully schemed  to  attend  some  Divinity 
lectures  even  in  the  summer  months.  The 
Scotch  Universities  are  the  paradise  of  poor 
and  struggling  students  who  have  more 
brains  and  character  than  bawbees ;  but  the 


I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  15 

education  was  not  free  in  those  days.  The 
money  for  fees  had  to  be  pinched  and 
scraped ;  but  it  was  found  somehow,  and  in 
the  early  winter  of  1836,  David  and  his 
father  walked  to  the  city  from  Blantyre 
and  trudged  the  streets  of  Glasgow  all  day, 
with  the  snow  upon  the  ground,  till  at  last 
they  found  a  room  in  "Rotten  Row"  that 
could  be  had  for  two  shillings  a  week. 
Lodged  thus  as  cheaply  as  could  be 
managed,  he  applied  himself  with  all  his 
unfailing  diligence  and  zest  to  learn  Greek 
and  medicine,  as  well  as  to  such  theological 
studies  as  could  be  undertaken  under  the 
leadership  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wardlaw — one 
of  Glasgow's  most  famous  divines— who 
trained  men  for  the  Congregational  ministry, 
and  for  whom  Livingstone  had  a  great 
admiration. 

During  his  second  session  at  Glasgow 
(1837-8)  David  Livingstone  came  to  the  most 
fateful  decision  of  his  life.  -  He  decided  to 
offer  himself  to  one  of  the  Missionary  Societies 
for  foreign  service.  He  chose  the  London 
Missionary  Society  because  of  his  sympathy 


1 6  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

with  the  catholicity  of  its  basis.  It  existed 
"to  send  neither  Episcopacy,  nor  Presby- 
terianism,  nor  Independency  to  the  heathen, 
but  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  "  This,"  said 
Livingstone  "exactly  agreed  with  my  ideas." 
He  was  a  member  of  a  Congregational 
church,  and  the  London  Missionary  Society 
has  always  been  in  the  main  supported  by 
these  churches.  But  the  Society  was 
founded  by  Evangelical  churchmen  and 
prominent  Presbyterians,  as  well  as  by 
Congregationalists,  and  nothing  appealed 
more  to  Livingstone  than  this  union  of 
Christian  people  in  the  service  of  an  un- 
christian world. 

In  due  course  the  acceptance  of  his  offer 
arrived,  and  in  the  early  autumn  of  1838  he 
travelled  to  London,  where  he  was  to  appear 
before  the  Mission  Board  at  57  Aldersgate 
Street.  One  can  imagine  that,  apart  alto- 
gether from  the  momentous  character  of  his 
visit,  and  the  anxiety  he  must  have  felt  as  to 
his  acceptance  by  the  Directors,  this  first 
visit  to  London  must  have  been  a  most 
impressive  one  to  the  young  Scotsman.     He 


I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  17 

heard  many  distinguished  preachers,  and 
visited  the  famous  sites  of  London.  Among 
other  places,  he  went  with  a  companion  to 
Westminster  Abbey.  It  is  a  thrilling 
thought,  as  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes  reminds  us, 
that  he  was  never  known  to  enter  that  Abbey 
again  until  his  remains  were  borne  thither 
amid  the  lamentations  of  the  whole  civilised 
world,  and  all  the  honours  that  the  living  can 
ever  pay  to  the  dead. 

The  examination  by  the  Directors  was 
satisfactory ;  and  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  time  Livingstone  was  committed  for  a 
short  period  of  probation  to  the  tutorship  of 
the  Rev.  Richard  Cecil,  the  minister  of  the 
little  town  of  Chipping  Ongar  in  Essex. 
There  he  was  expected  to  give  proof  of 
his  preaching  ministry,  with  what  result  is 
generally  known.  He  was  sent  one  Sunday 
evening  to  preach  in  the  village  of  Stanford 
Rivers,  where  the  tradition  of  Livingstone's 
first  effort  at  preaching  is  still  cherished. 
The  raw,  somewhat  heavy-looking  Scotch 
youth,  to  whom  public  speech  was  always  a 
difficulty,      gave      out      his      text     "very 


1 8  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

deliberately."  That  was  all  the  con- 
gregation got.  The  sermon  composed  on 
the  text  had  fled,  owing  to  the  nervous 
embarrassment  produced  by  a  handful  of 
people  in  a  village  chapel.  "  Friends,"  said 
the  youth,  *'  I  have  forgotten  all  I  had  to 
say  " — "  and  hurrying  out  of  the  pulpit  he 
left  the  chapel."  I  have  no  doubt  that 
"hurrying"  is  the  right  word.  Never  was 
failure  more  absolute.  It  is  hardly  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  Rev.  Richard  Cecil 
reported  to  the  Directors  his  fears  that 
Livingstone  had  mistaken  his  vocation.  It 
was  a  risk  to  send  someone  to  preach  to  the 
heathen  who  might  possibly  forget  what  he 
had  come  to  say  when  he  arrived.  More- 
over, criticism  was  made  of  his  extreme 
slowness  and  hesitancy  in  prayer.  Yet  the 
man  who  was  nearly  rejected  by  the  Society 
on  this  account,  died  on  his  knees  in  the  heart 
of  Africa,  while  all  the  world  was  awed  by  the 
thought  that  David  Livingstone  passed  away 
in  the  act  of  prayer.  As  i.:  was  his  probation 
was  extended,  and  at  the  end  of  another  two 
months  he  was  finally  accepted,  and  went  up 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  19 

to  London  to  continue  his  medical  studies  in 
the  London  Hospitals.  One  of  the  most 
striking  things  ever  written  about  him  was 
by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Isaac  Taylor,  of  Ongar. 
"  Now  after  nearly  forty  years,"  he  writes, 
"  I  remember  his  step,  the  characteristic 
forward  tread,  firm,  simple,  resolute,  neither 
fast  nor  slow,  no  hurry  and  no  dawdle,  but 
which  evidently  meant — getting  there  !  "  In 
November,  1840,  he  was  able  to  return  to 
Glasgow,  and  qualify  as  a  Licentiate  of  the 
Faculty  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  ;  and  a 
few  days  later  he  said  goodbye  to  the  old 
folks  at  home,  one  of  whom — his  father — he 
was  never  to  see  on  earth  again.  On 
November  20th  he  was  ordained  at  Albion 
Chapel,  London,  and  three  weeks  later  he 
sailed  on  the  "  George "  to  Algoa  Bay  in 
South  Africa.  One  chapter  in  his  memor- 
able life  was  now  definitely  closed.  Among 
the  memories  in  it  there  are  few  if  any  that 
he  cherished  more  than  that  of  his  old 
Sunday  School  teacher,  David  Hogg,  who 
sent  for  him  as  he  lay  dying  and  said,  *'  Now 
lad,  make  religion  the  every-day  business  of 


20  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  i 

your  life,  and  not  a  thing  of  fits  and  starts, 
for  if  you  do,  temptation  and  other  things 
will  get  the  better  of  you."  It  is  hardly  too 
much  to  say  that  the  old  man's  death-bed 
counsel  became  the  watchword  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  II 

A  VOYAGE  of  five  months  saw  Livingstone  at 
Algoa  Bay,  preparing  for  his  first  journey 
into  the  interior  of  Africa,  the  grave  of  so 
many  reputations,  but  the  land  of  his 
renown.  Until  within  a  short  time  of  his 
departure  from  London  he  had  hoped  and 
intended  to  go  to  China  as  a  medical 
missionary.  But  the  "Opium  War"  was 
still  in  progress ;  and  for  the  time  being 
China  was  impossible.  Moreover,  Living- 
stone was  brought  under  the  influence  of 
one  of  the  greatest  personalities  in  modern 
missionary  enterprise.  Robert  Moffat  was 
home  on  furlough,  and  his  wonderful  story 
no  less  than  his  striking  presence,  exerted 
their  spell  over  the  young  Scot  and  changed 
the  goal  of  his  ambition.  Dr.  Moffat  was 
wont    to   describe    the   numberless    African 


22  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

villages  stretching  away  to  the  north  where 
no  missionary  had  yet  penetrated  ;  and  his 
appeal  found  a  ready  response  in  Living- 
stone's heart  None  of  us  who  have  heard 
the  old  man  eloquent,  and  on  whose 
memories  the  stately  striking  figure,  with 
the  flowing  beard,  and  the  iron-grey 
tousled  hair,  made  an  indelible  im- 
pression, will  wonder  that  any  young 
man's  imagination  should  be  kindled 
by  his  address,  or  should  discover  in  the 
mysterious  depths  of  the  vast  African  con- 
tinent the  field  for  his  life  work.  It  was  to 
Dr.  Moffat's  station  at  Kuruman  that  David 
Livingstone  took  his  first  journey.  The 
distance  was  seven  hundred  miles  ;  and  he 
immediately  surrendered  to  the  interest  and 
delight  of  travel  by  ox  waggon,  the  freedom 
of  the  open  air  life,  the  variety  of  the  scenery 
and  sport,  and  the  attractiveness  of  the 
natives,  who  engaged  his  sympathy  from  the 
first.  It  was  now  that  his  hardy  training  in 
Scotland  stood  him  in  good  stead.  He  knew 
how  to  put  up  with  inconveniences  cheerfully, 
and  face  difficulties  with  resolution,  while  his 


n  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  23 

resourcefulness  was  as  inexhaustible  as  his 
kindliness.  That  "characteristic  forward 
tread  "  of  which  Isaac  Taylor  had  spoken 
which  "  meant  getting  there  "  was  put  to  the 
proof  and  not  found  wanting.  To  him  there 
was  a  way  out  of  every  situation,  however 
critical  ;  and  the  "  bold  free  course  "  which  he 
took  with  the  natives,  together  with  his 
medical  skill  and  unwearying  goodness,  won 
their  loyalty.  They  recognised  him  as  a 
great  chief,  and  his  whole  career  is  eloquent 
of  the  extraordinary  devotion  which  he 
inspired  in  them.  At  the  end  of  May,  1841, 
he  was  at  Kuruman,  with  instructions  from 
the  Directors  of  the  Society  to  turn  his 
attention  to  the  North — instructions  that 
absolutely  coincided  with  his  own  aspira- 
tion. It  is  notable  that  he  formed  the  very 
highest  opinion  of  the  value  of  Christian 
missions  from  the  results  that  he  saw.  Let 
it  be  remembered  that  he  was  always  a  slow, 
cautious  Scot  in  all  his  judgments,  with  a 
severely  truthful  and  scientific  mind,  and  his 
testimony  becomes  the  more  valuable. 
"Everything    I     witnessed    surpassed    my 


24  DK.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

hopes,"  he  writes  home  ;  "  if  this  is  a  fair 
sample  the  statements  of  the  missionaries  as 
to  their  success  are  far  within  the  mark." 
He  is  full  of  the  praises  of  the  Christian 
Hottentots,  who  are  "  far  superior  in  attain- 
ments to  what  I  had  expected  ; "  their  worship 
reminded  him  of  the  old  covenanters.  It  was 
thus,  then,  that  with  his  zeal  for  his  mission 
of  evangelism  greatly  stimulated,  he  started 
north  to  the  country  of  the  Bakwains. 

A  short  circuit  sufficed  to  reveal  the  pro- 
blem, and  he  returned  to  Kuruman  to  think 
out  the  best  plan  of  campaign.  The  first 
step  was  a  characteristic  one.  It  was  to 
isolate  himself  absolutely  from  all  European 
society  and  live  among  the  natives,  so  as  to 
learn  their  language  and  study  their  habits 
and  their  laws.  For  six  months  he  rigor- 
ously pursued  his  plan,  and  found  his  reward 
in  the  new  appreciation  he  gained  of  the 
native  character  and  mode  of  thinking,  and 
the  extent  to  which  he  conquered  their 
confidences.  So  far  advanced  had  he 
become  in  the  knowledge  of  their  language 
that  he  was  able  to  enjoy  a  laugh  at  himself 


n  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  25 

for  "turning  poet."  One  can  believe  that 
to  Livingstone  this  was  no  easy  work ;  but 
he  succeeded  in  making  Sechuana  transla- 
tions of  several  hymns  which  were  after- 
wards adopted  and  printed  by  the  French 
missionaries.  "If  they  had  been  bad,"  he 
says  in  his  naive  way,  "  I  don't  see  that  they 
can  have  had  any  motive  for  using  them." 

He  was  waiting  now  for  the  final  decision 
of  the  directors  authorising  the  advance  into 
the  unoccupied  district  of  the  north.  The 
decision  was  long  in  coming.  We  must 
recognise  that  such  a  resolution  was  not  an 
easy  one  for  those  who  carried  all  the 
responsibilities  at  home.  Even  their  most 
trusted  advisers  on  the  actual  field  were  not 
agreed.  Dr.  Philip,  the  special  representa- 
tive of  the  Society  at  the  Cape,  and  a  man 
of  great  personal  power  and  sagacity,  shook 
his  head  over  Livingstone's  impetuosity  and 
talked  about  the  dangers.  "If  we  wait  till 
there  is  no  danger,"  said  Livingstone,  "  we 
shall  never  go  at  all."  It  was  quite  true ; 
but  there  were  big  problems  of  policy  to  be 
decided.       Many    held    by ;  the    WAtchworu 


2€  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

**  concentrttion,"  which  is  always  plausible, 
and  often  conclusive.  Settlements  for  edu- 
cational and  industrial  developments  had 
proved  their  value.  On  the  other  hand 
Livingstone  had  unanswerable  logic  on  his 
side  when  he  argued  that  the  missionaries  in 
the  South  had  too  scanty  a  population  and 
that  the  call  to  possess  the  North  was  urgent, 
for  the  traders  and  the  slavers  were  pushing 
out  there,  and  the  gospel  of  humanity  was 
imperatively  needed. 

There  was  long  delay,  but  in  the  mean- 
time Livingstone  was  making  proof  of  his 
ministry.  His  medical  knowledge  helped  to 
spread  his  fame.  He  fought  the  rain- 
makers at  their  own  arts  with  the  scientific 
weapon  of  irrigation  and  won  his  battle. 
He  made  friends  with  the  Bechuana  Chi^f, 
Sechele,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
interesting  of  the  many  great  natives  who 
surrendered  to  the  charm  of  Livingstone. 
Sechele  was  deeply  impressed  by  the 
missionary's  message,  but  profoundly 
troubled  in  spirit.  :He  said,  "You  startle 
mey-.th^se,  wofilst   make    all    my   bones  to 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  27 

shake — I  have  no  more  strength  in  me. 
But  my  forefathers  were  living  at  the  same 
time  yours  were,  and  how  is  it  that  they  did 
not  send  them  word  about  these  terrible 
things  sooner.  They  all  passed  away  into 
darkness  without  knowing  whither  they  were 
going."  When  Livingstone  tried  to  explain 
to  him  the  gradual  spread  of  the  Gospel 
knowledge,  the  chief  refused  to  believe  that 
the  whole  earth  could  be  visited.  There 
was  a  barrier  at  his  very  door — the  Kalahari 
desert.  Nobody  could  cross  it.  Even  those 
who  knew  the  country  would  perish,  and  no 
missionary  would  have  a  chance.  As  for  his 
own  people  there  was  no  difficulty  in  convert- 
ing them,  always  assuming  that  Livingstone 
would  go  to  work  in  the  right  way.  "  Do 
you  imagine  these  people  will  ever  believe  by 
your  merely  talking  to  them  ?  I  can  make 
them  do  nothing  except  by  thrashing  them, 
and  if  you  like  I  will  call  my  head-men  and 
with  our  litupa  (whips  of  rhinoceros  hide)  we 
will  soon  make  them  all  believe  together." 
It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  Sechele's 
state-church    principles    did    not    commend 


28  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

themselves  to  the  mind  of  an  ardent 
voluntaryist  like  Livingstone.  "In  our 
relations  with  the  people,"  he  writes, 
"we  were  simply  strangers  exercising  no 
authority  or  control  whatever.  Our  in- 
fluence depended  entirely  on  persuasion ; 
and  having  taught  them  by  kind  conversa- 
tion as  well  as  by  public  instruction,  I 
expected  them  to  do  what  their  own  sense 
of  right  and  wrong  dictated."  He  then  sets 
on  record  *'  five  instances  in  which  by  our 
influence  on  public  opinion  war  was 
prevented,"  and  pays  a  high  tribute  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  natives  who  in  many 
respects  excel  "our  own  uneducated 
peasantry."  This  attitude  of  appreciation 
and  respectful  sympathy  was  the  secret  of 
Livingstone's  unparalleled  influence  over  the 
African  tribes.  It  was  on  a  return  from  a 
visit  to  Sechele  in  June,  1843,  that  Living- 
stone heard  the  good  news  of  the  formal 
sanction  of  the  forward  movement.  He 
hailed  the  decision,  as  he  said,  "  with 
inexpressible  delight " ;  and  in  a  fine  letter 
written    to    Mr.    Cecil    declared    his    fixed 


If  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  29 

resolve  to  give  less  attention  to  the  art  of 
physical  healing  and  more  to  spiritual 
amelioration.  He  has  no  ambition  to  be 
"a  very  good  doctor  but  a  useless  drone 
of  a  missionary."  He  feels  that  to  carry  out 
this  purpose  will  in.volve  some  self-denial, 
but  he  will  make  the  sacrifice  cheerfully. 
As  for  the  charge  of  ambition,  "  I  really 
am  ambitious  to  preach  beyond  other  men's 
lines.  ...  I  am  only  determined  to  go  on 
and  do  all  I  can,  while  able,  for  the  poor 
degraded  people  of  the  north." 

In  less  than  two  months  he  was  ready  for 
the  new  move.  The  first  journey  was  two 
hundred  miles  to  the  north-east,  to  Mabotsa, 
which  he  had  previously  noted  as  suitable 
for  a  station.  Here  he  built  a  house  with 
his  own  hands,  and  settled  down  for  three 
years'  work  among  the  Bakatlas.  During 
this  period  two  events  occurred  that  were 
especially  notable.  The  first  went  far  towards 
ending  his  career.  The  facts  are  well- 
known  from  Livingstone's  own  graphic  but 
simple  description.  He  had  gone  with  the 
Bakatlas    to    hunt    some    lions   which   had 


30  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  n 

committed  serious  depredations  in  the 
village.  The  lions  were  encircled  by  the 
natives  but  broke  through  the  line  and 
escaped.  As  Livingstone  was  returning, 
however,  he  saw  one  of  the  beasts  on  a 
small  hill,  and  fired  into  him  at  about  thirty 
yards*  distance.  Loading  again,  he  heard  a 
shout,  and  **  looking  half-round  saw  the  lion 
just  in  the  act  of  springing  upon  me."  The 
lion  seized  him  by  the  shoulder  and  "growl- 
ing horribly  close  to  my  ear,  he  shook  me  as 
a  terrier  dog  does  a  rat."  We  now  see  the 
advantage  of  a  scientific  education.  Living- 
stone was  able  to  analyse  his  own  feelings 
and  emotions  during  the  process  of  being 
gnawed  by  a  lion.  He  observed  that  "  the 
shock  produced  a  stupor,  a  sort  of  dreami- 
ness "  ;  there  was  "  no  sense  of  pain,  nor 
feeling  of  terror."  He  compares  it  to  the 
influence  of  chloroform ;  and  argues  that 
**  this  peculiar  state  is  probably  produced  in 
all  animals  killed  by  the  carnivora,  and  if  so 
is  a  merciful  provision  by  our  benevolent 
Creator  for  lessening  the  pain  of  death." 
In    this    judgment    he    anticipated    some 


LIVINGSTONE  ATTACKED  BY  A  LION* 
3« 


32  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

weighty  modem  conclusions  by  noted 
physiologists.  So  interesting  does  Living- 
stone find  these  observations,  that  it  seems 
as  if  he  must  have  been  almost  disappointed 
when  the  lion  released  him  and  turned  his 
attention  to  others  less  well  equipped  for 
scientific  investigation.  On  the  whole 
Livingstone  escaped  marvellously  well,  but 
the  bone  was  crunched  into  splinters,  and 
there  were  eleven  teeth  wounds  on  the  upper 
part  of  his  arm.  The  arm  indeed  was  never 
really  well  again.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  it  was  by  the  false  joint  in  this  limb 
that  the  remains  of  Livingstone  were 
identified  on  their  arrival  in  England.  It 
will  also  be  remembered  that,  as  has  been  so 
well  said,  "  for  thirty  years  afterwards  all 
his  labours  and  adventures,  entailing  such 
exertion  and  fatigue,  were  undertaken  with  a 
limb  so  maimed  that  it  was  painful  for  him 
to  raise  a  fowling-piece,  or  in  fact  to  place 
the  left  arm  in  any  position  above  the  level 
of  the  shoulder." 

This  was  a  bad  business.     But  Providence 
has   a  way  of  making  up  to  good   men   for 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  33 

afflictions  of  this  kind ;  and  Livingstone's 
compensation  came  to  him  in  the  following 
year,  when  he  had  something  to  face  that 
demanded  more  daring  than  a  mere  every- 
day encounter  with  lions.  He  had  been  a 
bachelor  in  Africa  for  four  years,  and  he  had 
resolved  to  try  his  fortune  with  Mary 
Moffat,  Dr.  Moffat's  eldest  daughter.  The 
proposal  was  made  **  beneath  one  of  the 
fruit  trees  "  at  Kuruman  in  1 844.  He  got 
the  answer  he  desired  and  deserved,  and 
Mary  Moffat  took  him  with  all  his  erratic 
ways,  and  became  his  devoted  wife.  **  She 
was  always  the  best  spoke  in  the  wheel  at 
home,"  he  writes;  "and  when  I  took  her 
with  me  on  two  occasions  to  lake  Ngami, 
and  far  beyond,  she  endured  more  than  some 
who  have  written  large  books  of  travels." 
In  course  of  time  three  sons  and  a  daughter 
came  to  "  cheer  their  solitude,"  and  increase 
their  responsibilities.  But  from  the  first  they 
set  themselves  to  fulfil  what  Livingstone 
called  the  ideal  missionary  life,  "the  husband 
a  jack-of- all-trades,  and  the  wife  a  maid-of- 
all  -  work."       The    catalogue    of    necessary 


34  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

accomplishments  sounds  somewhat  embar- 
rassing, and  one  realises  that  the  ordinary 
college  training  is  in  many  respects  incom- 
plete. Here  it  is,  as  Livingstone  expresses 
it — **  Building,  gardening,  cobbling,  doctor- 
ing, tinkering,  carpentering,  gun-mending, 
farriering,  waggon-mending,  preaching,  school- 
ing, lecturing  on  physics,  occupying  a  chair 
in  divinity,  and  helping  my  wife  to  make 
soap,  candles,  and  clothes."  It  was  certainly 
a  busy  and  catholic  career.  He  was  carrying 
the  whole  of  his  world  upon  his  own  broad 
shoulders,  and  was  guide,  philosopher,  and 
friend  to  a  vast  district.  He  had  his  enemies, 
too,  as  those  who  champion  the  rights  of  the 
poor  and  helpless  are  sure  to  have.  To 
the  north  were  to  be  found  settlements  of 
unscrupulous  and  marauding  Boers,  who 
held  by  all  the  unenlightened  views  of  the 
relation  of  the  white  races  to  the  black  which 
were  only  recently  extinct  in  England  where 
the  financial  interest  in  slavery  died  hard  in 
1833.  These  Boer  marauders  lived  largely 
on  slave-labour  and  on  pillage  ;  and  Living- 
stone was   brought   into   open   conflict  with 


n  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  35 

them.  On  one  side  they  may  be  said  to 
have  barred  his  advance.  The  tribes  he 
served  and  loved  lived  under  the  shadow  of 
a  Boer  invasion.  The  time  was  to  come 
when  the  cloud  would  burst  over  Sechele  and 
his  unoffending  people,  when  his  wives 
would  be  slain  and  his  children  carried  away 
into  slavery  ;  when  many  of  the  bravest  of 
his  people  would  be  massacred,  and  Living- 
stone's house  sacked  and  gutted  in  his 
absence.  This  complicity  of  the  northern 
Boers  in  those  outrages  on  native  tribes 
which  history  most  frequently  associates  with 
the  Portuguese,  earned  Livingstone's  stern 
indignation  and  detestation  ;  though  he 
never  did  the  Boers  of  South  Africa  the 
injustice  of  confounding  the  lawless  raiders 
with  the  main  body  of  settlers,  of  whom  he 
wrote  "  the  Boers  generally  .  .  .  are  a  sober, 
industrious,  and  most  hospitable  body  of 
peasantry." 

He  had,  however,  already  begun  to  have 
glimpses  of  what  his  life-witness  was  to  be. 
He  saw  that  the  curse  of  Africa  lay  not  only 
in  the  eternal  conflicts  of  tribe  with  tribe. 


36  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

That  form  of  misery  was  original  to  the 
continent  and  its  savage  inhabitants.  But  a 
new  curse  had  fallen  upon  the  unhappy 
people  by  the  intrusion  of  those  who  united 
with  a  higher  material  civilisation  a  more 
developed  and  refined  form  of  cruelty.  The 
diabolical  cunning  and  callousness  that,  under 
the  guise  of  trading,  would  gain  the  con- 
fidence of  a  peaceful  tribe,  only  at  last  to  rise 
up  some  fatal  night,  murder  the  old,  enslave 
the  young,  burn  the  huts,  and  march  the 
chained  gang  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  sea, 
have  made  the  records  of  African  Slavery  the 
most  awful  reading  in  human  history. 
Imagination  carries  the  story  one  step 
further.  We  hardly  need  the  genius  of  a 
Turner  to  suggest  to  us  the  horror  of  a  slave- 
ship  under  the  torrid  tropical  skies,  with  its 
dead  and  dying  human  freight.  When  the 
slave-trade  is  realised  in  all  its  accumulated 
horrors,  it  is  easy  to  understand  how,  to  a  man 
of  Livingstone's  noble  Christian  sensibility, 
the  manifest  duty  of  the  Church  of  Christ  was 
to  engage  ia  a  war-to-the-death  struggle 
against  this  darkest  of  all  inhumanities. 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  37 

He  was  planning  his  campaign  during  the 
years  when  he  passed  with  his  wife  and 
children  from  one  settlement  to  another. 
Three  houses  he  built  with  his  own  hands, 
and  made  some  progress  in  the  cultivation  of 
gardens  round  them.  The  first  was  at 
Mabotsa.  It  was  the  home  'to  which  he 
brought  his  young  bride  and  to  leave  it  went 
to  his  heart.  His  going  was  the  result  of  the 
attitude  adopted  towards  him  by  a  brother 
missionary.  Sooner  than  cause  scandal 
among  the  tribe  he  resolved  to  give  every- 
thing up  and  go  elsewhere.  "  Paradise  will 
make  amends  for  all  our  privations  and 
sorrows  here,"  he  says  simply.  It  is  some- 
thing to  know  that  the  missionary  who  did 
him  this  injustice  lived  "  to  manifest  a  very 
different  spirit."  Livingstone  next  cast  in  his 
lot  with  Sechele  and  his  people,  and  built  his 
second  house  at  Chonuane,  some  forty  miles 
from  Mabotsa.  It  was  hard  work,  and  it 
made  a  big  drain  on  his  very  small  income, 
but  it  was  not  his  way  to  complain.  The 
hardship  fell  more  severely  on  his  wife  and 
infant  children,  and  he  felt  the  deprivations 


38  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

and  inconveniences  most  for  them.  The 
house  was  finished  in  course  of  time,  and  a 
school  was  erected  too,  where  the  children 
were  instructed,  and  services  held.  But 
nature  was  against  a  long  settlement  at 
Chonuane.  A  period  of  prolonged  drought 
set  in.  Supplies  were  exhausted.  The 
people  had  to  go  further  afield,  and  the 
position  became  untenable.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  for  the  Livingstones 
to  go  too.  All  the  labour  of  rebuilding  had 
to  be  undertaken  again,  this  time  at 
Kolobeng,  another  forty  miles  on.  Provi- 
dence was  Indeed  to  Livingstone  "  like  as  an 
eagle  stirring  up  the  nest."  Such  of  the 
tribe  as  were  left  went  with  him  and  a  new 
village  was  constructed.  Livingstone  and 
his  family  lived  for  a  year  in  "a  mere  hut." 
In  1848  the  new  house  was  actually  built, 
despite  some  serious  personal  accidents  of 
which  he  made  light  in  his  usual  way. 
*•  What  a  mercy  to  be  in  a  house  again !  "  he 
writes  home  ;  "  a  year  in  a  little  hut  through 
which  the  wind  blew  our  candles  into 
glorious   icicles   (as  a  poet  would  say)   by 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  39 

night,  and  in  which  crowds  of  flies  con- 
tinually settled  on  the  eyes  of  our  poor  little 
brats  by  day,  makes  us  value  our  present 
castle.  Oh  Janet,  know  thou,  if  thou  art 
given  to  building  castles  in  the  air,  that  that 
is  easy  work  compared  to  erecting  cottages 
on  the  ground !  "  Such  was  the  building  of 
his  third  house,  the  one  that  was  afterwards 
sacked  by  the  Boers.  Then  he  built  no 
more  houses.  Indeed,  he  never  had  a  home 
of  his  own  in  Africa  afterwards.  The  dark 
problem  of  Central  Africa  had  him  in  its 
grip.  He  sent  his  wife  and  children  home 
to  England ;  and  he  himself  became  like 
that  Son  of  Man  whose  example  he  followed 
so  nearly,  one  "  who  had  not  where  to  lay 
his  head." 

Before  that  time  came,  however,  he  had 
laid  the  foundations  of  his  fame  as  an 
explorer  by  crossing  the  Kalahari  Desert, 
and  discovering  Lake  Ngami.  The  circum- 
stances that  gave  rise  to  this  journey  are 
easily  detailed.  The  drought  continued 
at  Kolobeng  as  pitilessly  as  at  Chonuane. 
Only  the  power  of  Livingstone's  personality 


40  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

sufficed  to  retain  the  faith  and  loyalty  of 
the  tribes.  He  writes  that  they  were 
always  treated  with  "  respectful  kindness " 
and  never  had  an  enemy  among  the  natives. 
His  enemies  were  among  the  "  dirty  whites," 
who  knew  that  he  was  the  most  dangerous 
obstacle  to  the  slave-raids,  and  who  objected 
to  his  policy  of  training  Christian  native 
teachers  to  be  evangelists  among  their  own 
kinsfolk.  But  though  the  tribes  remained 
loyal,  the  fact  remained  that  Livingstone 
had  led  a  migration  which  had  not  resulted 
in  a  permanent  settlement ;  neither  could  he 
command  the  rain  as  their  own  rainmakers 
professed  to  be  able  to  do.  The  heathen 
superstition  that  hostile  doctors  had  put 
their  country  under  an  evil  charm  so  that 
no  rain  should  fall  on  it,  prevailed  even 
against  their  faith  in  the  missionary. 
Sechele's  more  enlightened  mind  found  it 
difficult  to  understand  why  Livingstone's 
God  did  not  answer  the  prayer  for  rain.  Yet 
the  work  went  forward  at  Kolobeng.  The 
chief  Sechele,  after  long  hesitation  on 
Livingstone's  part,  was  baptised  and  entered 


u  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  41 

into  communion  with  the  little  church. 
Trouble  followed  when  he  **  went  home, 
gave  each  of  his  superfluous  wives  new 
clothing,  and  all  his  own  goods,  which  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  keep  in  their  huts 
for  him,  and  sent  them  to  their  parents  with 
an  intimation  that  he  had  no  fault  to  find 
with  them,  but  that  in  parting  with  them  he 
wished  to  follow  the  will  of  God."  It  was 
his  solution  of  a  social  problem  that  can 
never  be  satisfactorily  solved,  and  it  was 
both  courageous  and  generous,  but  .he  result 
was  seen  in  the  fiercer  resentment  of  the 
relatives  of  the  women ;  and  while  little  or 
none  of  this  fell  upon  Livingstone,  it  served 
seriously  to  prejudice  the  religion  which  was 
responsible  for  Sechele's  action.  On  every 
count,  it  was  desirable  to  find  the  new  and 
permanent  station,  where  that  central  train- 
ing-ground for  native  missionaries  could  be 
established  which  Livingstone  had  constantly 
in  view,  and  where  the  water  supply  would 
be  less  likely  to  fail.  But  where  to  go  .'*  In 
the  south,  the  field  was  well   supplied  with 


42  DR.   LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

missionaries.  To  the  east  were  the  un- 
friendly Dutch,  bent  on  making  mischief. 
To  the  north  lay  the  Kalahari  desert,  which 
Sechele  had  pronounced  to  be  an  impassable 
barrier  to  the  progress  of  Christianity.  "It 
is  utterly  impossible  even  to  us  black  men," 
he  said.  But  the  word  "  impossible "  was 
not  in  Livingstone's  dictionary. 

If  my  readers  will  take  the  trouble  to  look 
at  an  old  map  of  South  Africa  they  will 
find  the  whole  vast  track  of  the  west  which 
lies  to  the  north  of  the  Orange  River,  and 
includes  Bechuana  Land  and  Damara  Land, 
described  as  desert,  and  the  Kalahari  Desert 
in  the  eastern  portion  of  it.  Kolobeng  lay  at 
the  extreme  west  of  what  we  know  to-day  as 
the  Transvaal,  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  Pretoria,  and  was  more  than 
four  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  near  the 
sources  of  the  Limpopo  River,  which  flows 
north  and  east,  until  it  finally  joins  the  ocean 
at  Delagoa  Bay.  A  straight  line  to  Lake 
Ngami  would  have  taken  the  travellers  in  a 
north-westerly  direction  a  distance  of  little 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  43 

more  than  three  hundred  miles.  But  it  is 
doubtful  whether  they  could  have  survived 
such  a  journey  across  an  untrodden  route, 
even  if  they  had  known  accurately  where 
the  great  lake  lay.  They  were  certainly  well 
inspired  to  go  due  north  to  the  Zouga  River, 
and  then  follow  it  westward  to  the  lake, 
though  this  route  must  have  added  two 
hundred  miles  to  their  journey.  Three 
other  Europeans,  Colonel  Steele,  Mr.  Murray, 
and  Mr.  Oswell — the  latter  one  of  Living- 
stone's life-long  friends  and  a  mighty  African 
hunter,  joined  the  expedition,  which  started 
on  June  ist,  1849,  and  reached  the  lake  on 
August  I  St.  Livingstone  has  given  us  a 
most  graphic  and  detailed  description  of  the 
desert  with  its  sandy  soil,  its  dry  beds  of 
ancient  rivers,  its  trackless  plains,  its  prairie 
grass,  its  patches  of  bushes,  and  the  singular 
products  of  its  soil  with  roots  like  large 
turnips  that  hold  fluid  beneath  the  soil,  and 
above  all  the  desert  water-melons  on  which 
the  Bushmen  as  well  as  the  elephants  ani* 
antelopes,     and    even     lions    and    hyaenas 


44  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

subsist.  The  Bushmen  he  found  a  thin, 
wiry,  merry  race  capable  of  great  endurance, 
as  indeed  the  denizens  of  the  desert  must 
be.  They  existed  under  conditions  that 
inspired  the  Bechuana  with  terror,  for  to  add 
to  the  other  dangers  the  desert  was  at  times 
infested  with  serpents. 

It  was  a  hazardous  enterprise  to  which 
Livingstone  and  his  fellow  travellers  were 
committed,  and,  humanly  speaking,  its  success 
depended  wholly  on  the  discovery  of  water 
at  periodical  intervals.  The  "  caravan  "  was 
a  considerable  one.  Eighty  cattle  and 
twenty  horses  were  not  deemed  too  many 
for  the  waggons  and  for  riding ;  these  had  to 
be  watered,  and  the  twenty  men  besides. 
Progress  was  necessarily  slow.  None 
could  face  the  burning  heat  of  the  mid-day 
hours.  They  had  to  move  forward  in  the 
mornings  and  the  evenings.  The  waggon- 
wheels  sank  deep  into  the  soft,  hot  sand ; 
and  the  poor  oxen  dragging  them  laboriously 
forward  were,  at  a  critical  time,  nearly  four 
days    without    water,    "and    their    masters 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  45 

scarcely  better  off."  Aided,  however,  by  the 
experience  and  keen  instinct  of  the  natives, 
they  found  wells  in  unsuspected  places,  and 
eventually  made  the  banks  of  the  Zouga 
River.  After  that,  progress  was  easy. 
Leaving  the  waggons  and  oxen,  they  took  to 
canoes,  or  wended  their  way  along  the  river- 
banks,  until,  on  the  morning  of  August  ist, 
they  found  themselves  gazing  on  the  waters 
of  Lake  Ngami,  the  first  white  people  to  see 
it  so  far  as  they  knew. 

It  had  been  one  of  the  principal  arguments 
with  Livingstone  for  the  journey  that  he 
would  meet  the  famous  chief  Sebituane,  who 
had  saved  the  life  of  Sechele  in  his  infancy, 
and  who  was  renowned  as  a  warrior  and  as  a 
powerful  and  intelligent  ruler.  It  meant 
another  two  hundred  miles  of  travel  to  the 
north,  and  the  jealousies  of  the  chiefs,  and 
their  real  or  assumed  fears  for  Livingstone's 
safety,  prevented  the  realisation  of  his  hopes 
on  this  journey.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
but  to  go  back  to  Kolobeng,  where  the 
drought     persisted     as     absolute     as    ever. 


46  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

Livingstone's  congregation  and  Mrs.  Living- 
stone's school  had  disappeared  in  search  of 
better  watered  lands.  It  was  clear  that  for 
Livingstone  there  was  here  "no  abiding 
city."  He  resolved  to  transport  his  wife  and 
three  children  to  the  north.  He  made  more 
of  an  eastward  circuit  this  time,  and  Sechele 
accompanied  them  to  the  fords  of  the 
Zouga.  Mrs.  Livingstone  was  the  first 
white  lady  to  see  Lake  Ngami ;  but  the 
purposed  visit  to  Sebituane  had  again  to  be 
deferred. 

Livingstone's  aid  was  invoked  for  a  fever- 
stricken  party  of  Englishmen  who  were 
hunting  ivory.  One  was  already  dead,  but 
the  others  recovered  under  his  treatment. 
His  own  children,  however,  sickened ;  and 
the  party  precipitately  retired  to  "the  pure 
air  of  the  desert,"  and  so  home  to  Kolobeng 
where  another  child  was  born  to  them,  only 
to  be  carried  away  by  an  epidemic. 
"  Hers"  is  the  first  grave  in  all  that  country," 
writ-es  the  bereaved  father,  "marked  as 
the    resting-place    of    one    of    whom    it  is 


11  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  47 

believed   and  confessed  that  she  shall   live 
again." 

After  a  visit  to  Kuruman  to  rest  and 
recruit,  they  were  ready  in  April,  185 1,  for  a 
third  attempt  to  reach  Sebituane.  Mr. 
Oswell,  the  most  valuable  of  comrades,  was 
again  with  them.  The  journey  was 
successful,  but  it  came  dangerously  near  to 
being  disastrous  to  the  whole  family.  This 
crisis  occurred  on  the  far  side  of  the  Zouga 
river,  as  they  were  travelling  northward 
across  absolute  desert.  The  Bushman  guide 
lost  his  way,  and  the  supply  of  water  in  the 
waggons  had  been  wasted  by  one  of  the 
servants.  Livingstone  tells  the  incident  in  a 
single  paragraph,  but  the  agony  of  it  must 
nearly  have  killed  him  and  his  wife.  **  The 
next  morning,  the  less  there  was  of  water 
the  more  thirsty  the  little  rogues  became. 
The  idea  of  their  perishing  before  our  eyes 
was  terrible.  It  would  almost  have  been  a 
relief  to  me  to  have  been  reproached  with 
being  the  entire  cause  of  the  catastrophe,  but 
not  one  syllable  of  upbraiding  was   uttered 


48  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

by  their  mother,  though  the  tearful  eye  told 
the  agony  within.  In  the  afternoon  of  the 
fifth  day,  to  our  inexpressible  relief,  some  of 
the  men  returned  with  a  supply  of  that  fluid 
of  which  we  had  never  before  felt  the  true 
value."  At  last  the  often-postponed  pleasure 
of  meeting  and  greeting  Sebituane  was 
fulfilled,  and  the  famous  chief  more  than 
justified  all  expectations.  He  met  the  party 
on  the  Chobe  river  and  conducted  them 
with  great  ceremony  and  hospitality  to  his 
home.  The  way  seemed  to  be  opening  for 
a  new  and  auspicious  missionary  settlement, 
when  in  a  few  days  Sebituane  sickened  and 
died.  It  was  one  of  the  greatest  blows  which 
Livingstone  ever  experienced.  Its  tragic 
suddenness  almost  stunned  him.  Looking 
back  upon  it  now,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  it 
was  not  God's  will  that  Livingstone  should 
spend  his  life  in  the  work  of  a  missionary 
settlement,  but  should  be  driven  out  along 
the  lonely,  adventurous  path  where  his 
destiny  lay. 

But  at  the  moment  he  only  felt  severely 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  49 

the  crushing  of  his  hopes  and  frustration  of 
his  plans.  Sebituane's  daughter,  who 
succeeded  to  the  chieftainship,  was  full  of 
kindly  promises ;  but  difficulties  multiplied 
in  the  way  of  a  settlement,  which  further 
exploration  of  the  district  did  not  diminish. 
Penetrating  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  to  the 
north,  Oswell  and  Livingstone  came  upon  the 
broad  channel  of  a  noble  river,  called  by  the 
natives  the  Sesh^ke.  It  was  the  Zambesi, 
and  some  three  hundred  yards  wide  even 
there,  more  than  a  thousand  miles  from  the 
mouth.  Clearly  the  swamps  round  the  great 
river  afforded  no  healthy  land  for  settling. 
There  must  be  more  exploration  done,  and 
meantime  his  wife  and  children  must  be 
cared  for.  They  were  hundreds  of  miles 
from  any  white  settlement.  Even  so, 
Livingstone  might  still  have  debated  his 
destiny.  Bat  revelations  came  to  him  that 
the  slaver  was  even  now  establishing  his 
accursed  hold  on  this  district.  Sebituane's 
people,  the  Makololo,  finest  and  loyallest  of 
tribesmen,    had    begun    to    sell     children, 


50  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

plundered  from  their  native  villages,  for 
guns  and  calicoes.  "  It  is  broken-hearted- 
ness,"  he  wrote  much  later,  "of  which 
the  slaves  die.  Even  children,  who  showed 
wonderful  endurance  in  keeping  up  with 
the  chained  gangs,  would  sometimes  hear 
the  sound  of  dancing  and  the  merry  tinkle  of 
drums  in  passing  near  a  village  ;  then  the 
memory  of  home  and  happy  days  proved 
too  much  for  them,  they  cried  and  sobbed, 
the  broken  heart  came  on,  and  they  rapidly 
sank."  This  was  the  awful  revelation  that 
came  to  Livingstone  in  the  land  of  the 
Makololo.  Little  more  than  a  year  before, 
such  an  idea  as  the  barter  of  human  beings 
for  guns  had  never  been  known  among  this 
tribe.  "  Had  we  been  here  sooner  the  slave 
traffic  would  never  have  existed,"  argued 
Livingstone.  He  began  to  have  a  vision  of 
Christian  settlements  standing  sentinel  over 
the  lives  and  happiness  of  the  natives  of  the 
interior.  If  the  slaver  could  make  his  way 
from  the  coast  to  the  centre,  so  could  the 
missionary.  It  was  the  one  effective  counter- 
stroke  in  the  battle  for  human  liberty.    But  it 


n  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  51 

meant  separation  from  wife  and  bairns.  He 
must  return  and  do  this  work  alone.  He 
could  risk  no  one's  life  but  his  own.  His 
decision  was  taken.  He  devotes  only  a 
single  paragraph  to  the  long  and  arduous 
journey  to  Cape  Town.  It  was  a  matter 
of  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  part  of  it  was 
through  territory  where  a  so-called  Caffre 
War  was  being  waged,  which  excited 
Livingstone's  scorn  for  the  waste  of  blood 
and  treasure.  He  was  an  object  of  suspicion 
at  the  Cape.  The  State  authorities  sus- 
pected his  humanitarian  sympathies,  and  the 
Church  officials  his  theological  orthodoxy. 
He  was  in  debt,  and  had  anticipated  his 
small  salary  for  more  than  a  year  in  advance. 
But  he  had  written  to  the  Directors  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society  in  the  most 
resolute  terms.  "Consider  the  multitudes 
that  in  the  Providence  of  God  have  been 
brought  to  light  in  the  country  of  Sebituane ; 
the  probability  that  in  our  efforts  to  evan- 
gelise we  shall  put  a  stop  to  the  slave  trade 
in  a  large  region,  and  by  means  of  the  high- 


52  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

way  into  the  north  which  we  have  dis- 
covered bring  unknown  nations  into  the 
sympathies  of  the  Christian  World.  .  .  . 
Nothing  but  a  strong  conviction  that  the 
step  will  lead  to  the  Glory  of  Christ  would 
make  me  orphanise  my  children.  ..  .  .  Should 
you  not  feel  yourselves  justified  in  incurring 
the  expense  of  their  support  in  England,  I 
shall  feel  called  upon  to  renounce  the  hope 
of  carrying  the  Gospel  into  that  country.  .  .  . 
But  stay,  I  am  not  sure :  so  powerfully 
convinced  am  I  that  it  is  the  will  of  our  Lord 
that  I  should  go,  I  will  go,  no  matter  who 
opposes ;  but  from  you  I  expect  nothing  but 
encouragement."  A  happy  comment  on  this 
letter  is  found  in  Livingstone's  "  Missionary 
Travels,"  in  the  paragraph  recording  the 
farewell  to  his  wife  and  children.  "  Having 
placed  my  family  on  board  a  homeward- 
bound  ship,  and  promised  to  rejoin  them  in 
two  years,  we  parted  for,  as  it  subsequently 
proved,  nearly  five  years.  The  Directors  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society  signified 
their    cordial    approval    of    my   project    by 


II  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  53 

leaving  the  matter  entirely  to  my  own 
discretion,  and  I  have  much  pleasure  in 
acknowledging  my  obligations  to  the  gentle- 
men composing  that  body  for  always  acting 
in  an  enlightened  spirit,  and  with  as  much 
liberality  as  their  constitution  would  allow." 
Livingstone  started  back  for  the  interior 
on  the  8th  of  June,  1852.  He  was  now  in 
his  fortieth  year. 


CHAPTER  III 

It  is  difficult  to  summarise  Livingstone's 
achievements  during  the  eleven  years  he  had 
spent  in  Africa.  He  had  penetrated  furthest 
north  from  the  Cape  of  any  white  man.  He 
had  discovered  Lake  Ngami,  and  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  Zambesi.  He  had  given 
Christianity  a  foothold  among  the  Bakwains 
and  the  Makololo.  He  had  converted  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  chiefs  in  Central 
Africa.  He  had  built  three  houses  with  his 
own  hands,  and  had  taught  many  hundreds 
to  read.  He  had  exercised  the  healing  art 
to  the  relief  and  benefit  of  thousands.  He 
had  made  some  progress  in  reducing  Sechu- 
ana  to  a  grammatical  language ;  and  had 
even  composed  hymns  in  it.  He  had  made 
invaluable  scientific  researches,  and  had 
enriched  our    knowledge  of   the    animalia, 

54 


CH.  Ill  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  55 

flora,  and  fauna  of  Central  Africa.  Above 
all,  he  had  seen  at  first  hand  the  horrors  of 
the  slave  traffic,  and  had  vowed  himself  to 
the  ultimate  prevention  of  this  form  of  "man's 
inhumanity  to  man."  Eleven  busy,  arduous, 
and  perilous  years  had  brought  him  to  mid- 
life. He  was  now  about  to  dedicate  all  his 
ripe  experience  and  unique  powers  of  head 
and  heart  to  the  religious  and  social  redemp- 
tion of  the  dark  interior  of  the  continent  to 
which  he  had  consecrated  his  life.  Even 
during  his  brief  sojourn  at  the  Cape  he  had 
been  perfecting  himself  for  the  work  that 
lay  before  him.  He  had  studied  astronomy, 
and  had  learned  to  take  observations  under 
Sir  T.  Maclear,  the  Astronomer  Royal,  who 
wrote  of  him  afterwards:  "What  that  man 
has  done  is  unprecedented.  You  could  go 
to  any  point  across  the  entire  continent 
along  Livingstone's  track,  and  feel  certain  of 
your  position."  In  David  Livingstone's 
judgment  it  was  impossible  for  a  man  to  be 
too  thoroughly  equipped  for  the  great 
business  of  a  missionary. 

In  one  respect  his  equipment  was  neces- 


S6  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

sarily  poor.  His  financial  resources  were  so 
meagre  that  he  had  to  fall  back  on  very- 
lean  kine  to  draw  his  waggon,  which  is  why 
the  journey  to  Kuruman  took  a  full  three 
months.  There  a  broken  wheel  detained 
him,  and  possibly  saved  his  life  ;  for  this  was 
the  time  selected  by  the  band  of  Dutch 
marauders  to  wreak  their  vengeance  on  him, 
and  on  the  hapless  tribe  of  Sechele.  It  is  a 
shocking  story,  and  in  his  sympathy  with 
Sechele,  sixty  of  whose  people  had  been 
massacred,  Livingstone  could  almost  forget 
his  own  personal  loss,  though  he  grieved 
sorely  over  the  wanton  destruction  of  his 
books.  Amid  all  his  sorrow  and  heart- 
break, he  can  yet  smile  at  the  humorous 
side.  "  We  shall  move  more  easily  now  that 
we  are  lightened  of  our  furniture.  They 
have  taken  away  our  sofa.  I  never  had  a 
good  rest  on  it.  We  had  only  got  it  ready 
when  we  left.  Well,  they  can't  have  taken 
away  all  the  stones.  We  shall  have  a  seat 
in  spite  of  them,  and  that,  too,  with  a  merry 
heart  which  doeth  good  like  a  medicine." 
Never  in  this  world  was  anyone  who  had  so 


Ill  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  57 

stout  a  philosophy  for  times  of  misfortune. 
He  could  jest  that  "the  Boers  had  saved  him 
the  trouble  of  making  a  will." 

Poor  Sechele  in  his  despair  resolved  on  a 
personal  appeal  for  justice  to  the  great 
White  Queen,  and  actually  travelled  to  the 
Cape  to  take  ship  to  England.  He  was 
shown  much  kindness  there,  and  eventually 
returned,  gathered  the  people  around  him, 
and  became  a  stronger  chief  than  before, 
while  he  continued  to  instruct  his  tribe  in 
the  Bible,  without  any  assistance  from  a 
missionary.  There  are  few  more  striking 
proofs  of  the  enduring  power  of  Livingstone's 
personal  influence  and  Christian  faith. 

The  journey  through  our  old  friend  the 
desert  to  the  Chobe  river,  and  across  it  to 
where  Sekeletu,  the  son  of  Sebituane,  was 
now  reigning,  was  more  arduous  and  perilous 
than  it  had  been  previously.  The  floods 
from  the  annual  inundation  of  the  Chobe 
were  an  almost  invincible  obstacle  ;  yet  where 
the  waters  did  not  lie  the  heat  was  torrid. 
'•  At  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  the  sun  the 
thermometer   registered    125°.       The    hand 


58  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

cannot  be  held  on  the  earth,  and  even  the 
horny  feet  of  the  natives  must  be  protected 
by  sandals  of  hide."  The  battle  with  the 
waters  of  the  Chobe  and  its  tributaries  would 
have  ended  in  the  defeat  of  anyone  less  lion- 
hearted  than  this  traveller.  Many  of  the 
natives  retired  from  the  encounter  on  the 
easy  pretext  of  throwing  dice  and  declaring 
that  the  gods  willed  their  return.  Some  of 
them  feigned  sickness,  to  ride  in  the 
waggons  ;  and  it  required  infinite  patience 
and  humouring  to  get  them  forward.  Part 
of  the  journey  lay  through  dense  forest,  and 
laborious  days  were  spent  swinging  the  axe 
to  make  a  waggon  track.  The  rivers 
effectually  stopped  the  waggons ;  and  Living- 
stone took  to  a  pontoon,  and  afterwards  to 
canoes.  But  there  was  much  wading  to  do 
under  a  blistering  sun,  and  through  reeds 
that  "  made  our  hands  all  raw  and  bloody," 
and  thorns  that  tore  even  leather  trousers. 
They  were  glad  to  sleep  in  a  filthy  deserted 
hut ;  and  at  night  the  cold  dews  descended, 
and  the  mosquitoes  gathered  in  clouds. 
They   were   disturbed   by  the  hippopotami, 


Ill  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  59 

and  the  eerie  waters  were  alive  with  water- 
snakes.  But  no  combination  of  perils  had 
any  terror  for  one  the  alphabet  of  whose 
creed  was  that  "man  is  immortal  till  his 
work  is  done."  At  twilight  of  one  day,  a 
village  was  descried  on  the  river  bank.  It 
was  Moremi,  and  Livingstone  had  reached 
his  beloved  Makololo  at  last.  "  The  inhabit- 
ants looked  like  people  who  had  seen  a 
ghost,"  he  says ;  but  what  he  himself  really 
looked  like  he  forbears  to  add.  "  He  has 
dropped  among  us  from  the  clouds,  yet  came 
riding  on  the  back  of  a  hippopotamus," — this 
was  their  appropriate  description  of  the 
pontoon.  "We  Makololo  thought  no  one 
could  cross  the  Chobe  without  our  know- 
ledge, but  here  he  drops  among  us  like  a 
bird."  They  returned  with  him,  "took  the 
waggons  to  pieces  and  carried  them  across 
on  a  number  of  canoes  lashed  together." 
On  the  23rd  of  May,  1853,  they  reached 
Linyanti,  the  capital  town  of  the  Makololo, 
where  the  new  chief,  Sekeletu,  received 
them  "  in  royal  style." 

Livingstone's  problem  had  now  definitely 


6o  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

to  be  solved.  Sekeletu  was  not  a  whit 
behind  Sebituane  in  friendliness,  and  not 
much  inferior  in  intelligence.  He  had  no 
desire  for  the  Bible,  fearing  that  it  might 
compel  him  to  content  himself  with  one  wife. 
But  he  set  an  example  to  the  tribe  in  rever- 
ent attention  to  Livingstone's  simple  preach- 
ing, and  he  had  absolute  faith  in  the 
protection  afforded  to  his  people  by  Living- 
stone's presence  and  skill.  But  exactly  a 
week  after  the  arrival  at  Linyanti,  Living- 
stone had  his  first  taste  of  malaria,  nor  did 
the  well-meant  efforts  of  the  native  doctors 
do  much  to  cure  him.  He  experienced  its 
weakening  effect.  If  he  looked  up  suddenly 
he  was  affected  with  a  strange  giddiness. 
"  Everything  appeared  to  rush  to  the  left,  and 
if  I  did  not  catch  hold  of  some  support  I  fell 
heavily  on  the  ground."  The  same  horrible 
sensations  occurred  at  night,  "  whenever  I 
turned  suddenly  round."  One  thing  was 
clear — Linyanti  was  no  place  for  a  healthy 
settlement.  Some  might  add  that  with  fever 
in  the  system  it  was  idle  to  think  of  a  journey 
of  a  thousand  miles  or  more.     But  this  was 


m  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  6i 

not  Livingstone's  way  of  looking  at  things. 
**  There  is  a  good  deal  in  not  giving  in  to 
this  disease,"  he  writes;  "he  who  is  low- 
spirited  will  die  sooner  than  the  man  who  is 
not  of  a  melancholic  nature."  Ill  as  he  was, 
he  was  resolute  to  continue  his  explorations, 
and  with  Sekeletu  and  a  large  band  of 
Makololo  for  companions,  he  travelled  some 
hundreds  of  miles  of  waterway,  ascending  the 
great  river  to  the  north-west  from  Sesheke. 
Here  the  Zambesi  is  called  the  Leeambye, 
and  Livingstone  expresses  his  delight  at 
skimming  along  in  great  canoes,  gazing  on  a 
wonderful  inland  river  which  no  white  man 
had  hitherto  explored.  He  finds,  as  ever,  in 
the  wonders  and  beauties  of  nature,  the 
splendour  of  the  wild  birds,  and  the  curious 
fascination  of  the  river-beasts  some  relief 
from  the  awful  spectacle,  constantly  present, 
of  human  cruelty  and  degradation.  "  The 
sciences,"  he  writes,  "  exhibit  such  wonderful 
intelligence  and  design  in  all  their  various 
ramifications,  some  time  ought  to  be  de- 
voted to  them  before  engaging  in  mission- 
ary work.  .  .  .  We   may  feel   that  we  are 


62  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

leaning  on  His  bosom  while  living  in  a 
world  clothed  in  beauty,  and  robed  with 
the  glorious  perfection  of  its  Maker  and 
Preserver  .  .  .  He  who  stays  his  mind  on 
his  ever-present,  ever-energetic  God,  will  not 
fret  himself  because  of  evil-doers.  He  that 
believeth  shall  not  make  haste."  It  was 
indeed  well  for  him  that  he  had  this  power 
to  absorb  himself  in  "  whatsoever  things  are 
lovely,"  for  the  nightmare  of  heathenism  was 
always  with  him.  He  has  to  witness 
Sekeletu's  revenge  on  those  who  had  plotted 
against  him.  Some  of  the  scenes  are  in- 
credibly horrible ;  and  his  protests  are 
unavailing.  The  miseries  of  slavery  wrung 
his  heart,  and  as  he  advances  into  the  dark 
interior,  the  chorus  of  human  agonies  is  ever 
in  his  ears.  "  I  was  in  closer  contact  with 
heathens  than  I  had  ever  been  before,  and 
though  all  were  as  kind  to  me  as  possible, 
yet  to  endure  the  dancing,  roaring  and  sing- 
ing, the  jesting,  the  grumbling,  quarrellings 
and  murderings  of  these  children  of  nature 
was  the  severest  penance  I  had  yet  undergone 
in    the    course    of    my    missionary   duties." 


Ill  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  63 

Again  he  exclaims  in  his  Diary,  "the  more 
intimately  I  become  acquainted  with  bar- 
barians, the  more  disgusting  does  heathenism 
become.  It  is  inconceivably  vile  .  .  .  they 
never  visit  anywhere  but  for  the  purpose  of 
plunder  and  oppression.  They  never  go  any- 
where but  with  a  club  or  spear  in  hand.  .  .  . 
They  need  a  healer.  May  God  enable  me  to 
be  such  to  them."  Slowly  but  surely  the 
whole  tragedy  of  Africa  is  unveiled  before 
him.  The  fair  landscape  of  its  rivers  and 
forests,  the  gay  plumage  of  its  birds,  and 
beauty  of  its  living  creatures,  is  like  a 
gorgeous  curtain  covering  unspeakable 
depths  of  pain  and  sin.  The  people  gather 
in  hundreds  to  hear  him,  and  especially  to 
see  the  wonders  of  his  magic  lantern,  but  he 
cannot  in  a  brief  stay  undo  the  superstitions 
and  inhumanities  of  centuries.  His  eye  is  on 
the  future.  "  A  minister  who  has  not  seen  so 
much  pioneer  service  as  I  have  done  would 
have  been  shocked  to  see  so  little  effect 
produced.  .  .  .  We  can  afford  to  work  in 
faith.  .  .  .  Future  missionaries  will  be  re- 
warded   by  conversions    for  every   sermon. 


64  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

We  are  their  pioneers.  They  will  doubtless 
have  more  light  than  we,  but  we  served  our 
Master  earnestly  and  proclaimed  the  Gospel 
they  will  do." 

Baffled  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  healthy 
situation  for  a  permanent  mission  station  near 
Linyanti,  the  final  determination  to  make  a 
way  to  the  coast  crystallised  in  his  mind. 
"  I  shall  open  up  a  path  to  the  interior  or 
perish,"  he  writes,  in  his  terse,  decisive  way 
to  Dr.  Moffat ;  "I  never  have  had  the 
shadow  of  a  shade  of  doubt  as  to  the 
propriety  of  my  course."  On  November  8th 
he  writes  home  to  his  father  what  he 
evidently  feels  may  be  his  last  will  and  testa- 
ment :  *  May  God  in  mercy  permit  me  to  do 
something  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  these 
dark  places  of  the  earth.  May  He  accept 
my  children  for  His  service  and  sanctify  them 
for  it.  My  blessing  on  my  wife.  May  God 
comfort  her!  If  my  watch  comes  back  after 
I  am  cut  off,  it  belongs  to  Agnes.  If  my 
sextant,  it  is  Robert's.  The  Paris  medal  to 
Thomas.  Double-barrelled  gun  to  Zouga. 
Be  a  father  to  the  fatherless  and  a  husband 


Ill  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  6$ 

to  the  widow  for  Jesus'  sake,"  That  was  all. 
The  Boers  had  relieved  him  of  the  necessity 
of  willing  any  other  belongings.  He  had 
none.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
would  not  have  made  much  out  of  the  death 
duties  on  this  property. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Before  we  begin  our  journey  with  Living- 
stone to  the  coast,  it  will  be  well  to  pause 
and  consider  two  things — firstly,  the  task 
proposed;  and  secondly,  the  equipment  for 
the  task. 

(i)  The  Task.  Linyanti  lies  a  hundred 
miles  from  the  Zambesi  river,  at  which  the 
two  possible  routes  may  be  said  to  fork. 
The  one,  eastward,  was  comparatively 
simple :  it  was  to  follow  the  great  river 
some  thousand  miles  to  the  sea.  The  other, 
westward,  meant  tracing  the  river  towards 
the  source  so  far  as  was  possible,  and  then 
striking  westward  for  St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  a 
matter  in  all  of  some  fifteen  hundred  miles. 
Cape  Town  lay  to  the  south,  another  fifteen 
hundred  miles.  These  were  the  three  spokes 
of  the  wheel  from  the  centre  at  Linyanti. 

66 


CH.  IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  67 

Little  was  known  to  Livingstone  of  either 
the  eastward  or  the  westward  route.  He 
could  only  roughly  estimate  the  distance. 
He  had  no  notion  what  hostile  tribes,  what 
malarial  swamps,  what  impenetrable  forests, 
what  waterless  deserts  might  fall  to  be 
encountered.  All  that  lay  in  the  lap  of 
destiny.  He  had  not  only  to  make  this 
pilgrimage  himself;  he  had  to  watch  over 
the  safety  of  his  MakoloK  "boys,"  keep 
them  supplied  with  food  and  drink,  and 
protect  them  in  the  event  of  attack  by 
savages.  The  deadly  "tsetse"  fly  lay  in 
wait  for  his  oxen.  The  African  fever  lurked 
in  ambush  everywhere.  In  all  times  of 
extremity  he  had  nothing  to  consult  but  his 
own  stout  heart  and  resourceful  brain. 
Perils  of  floods  and  fevers,  wild  beasts  and 
wilder  human  foes  might  be  expected  as  a 
daily  portion.  Death  would  be  almost  a 
familiar  companion.  No  love  of  adventure, 
no  curiosity  and  fascination  of  exploration 
would  have  driven  Livingstone  through  this 
self-imposed  task.  One  has  only  to  study 
his  journal  and  listen  to  his  simple,  artless 


68  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

confessions  of  faith  to  see  that  at  every  step 
the  Christian  motive  was  supreme.  He  had 
sight  of  the  ultimate  City — the  coming 
civilisation  of  Christ — and  the  lions  of  the 
way  were  all  chained,  and  the  dangerous 
rapids  charmed. 

(2)  The  Equipment  for  the  Task.  Never 
was  a  journey  of  such  heroic  proportions 
undertaken  with  so  simple  an  equipment. 
When  one  read.'  of  the  elaborate  preparations 
for  modern  expeditions  not  half  so  formidable 
one  is  amazed  at  the  contrast.  Many  of  my 
readers  have  probably  seen  the  four  tin 
canisters,  fifteen  inches  square,  that  held  the 
valuables.  One  contained  spare  shirts, 
trousers,  and  shoes  to  be  used  when  civilisa- 
tion was  reached.  One  was  a  medicine 
chest.  One  a  library.  One  held  the  magic 
lantern  by  means  of  which  the  Gospel  story 
was  to  be  preached.  For  the  rest,  there 
were  twenty  pounds  of  beads,  value  forty 
shillings,  a  few  biscuits,  a  few  pounds  of  tea 
and  sugar,  and  about  twenty  pounds  of  coffee. 
There  were  five  guns  in  all :  three  muskets 
for  the  natives  who  could  use  them,  and  who 


TV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  69 

only  hit  things  by  accident ;  a  rifle  and 
double-barrelled  shot-gun  for  Livingstone, 
whose  injured  arm  always  made  shooting 
difficult,  and  whose  fever-shaken  frame 
sometimes  made  it  impossible.  A  bag  of 
clothes  for  the  journey,  a  small  tent,  a  sheep- 
skin mantle,  and  a  horse-rug  to  sleep  on 
completed  this  equipment.  The  sextant  and 
other  instruments  were  carried  separately ; 
and  the  amunition  was  •'  distributed  through 
the  luggage,"  so  that  if  any  portion  were  lost 
some  powder  and  shot  would  remain  to  them. 
Twenty-seven  "boys"  were  chosen  for  the 
westward  journey ;  and  it  is  as  well  to  set 
down  the  fact  here  that  all  the  twenty-seven 
were  brought  back  in  safety  to  their  homes. 

The  expedition  left  Linyanti  on  the  nth 
of  November,  1853.  Away  in  Europe  the 
English  and  French  fleets  had  entered  the 
Bosphorus,  and  a  delirious  public  opinion 
was  hurrying  Great  Britain  into  the  blunders 
of  the  Crimean  War.  Far  away  from  all  the 
"  fool-furies  "  of  European  politics,  one  single- 
minded  Christian  hero  was  setting  his  heart 
on  the  more  renowned  victories  of  peace  and 


70  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

freedom,  with  nothing  to  sustain  him  but  his 
own  quenchless  faith  in  God  and  the  Right. 
Even  at  the  start  he  had  been  severely 
shaken  with  fever,  and  much  preaching  had 
brought  back  an  old  troublesome  complaint 
in  the  throat ;  but  these  were  personal 
inconveniences  which  he  never  allowed  to 
deter  him  from  any  line  of  duty.  The  fare- 
wells were  said  with  Sekeletu  at  Sesheke  on 
the  Zambesi,  and  the  expedition  passed  away 
to  the  north-west  into  the  great  unknown. 

For  the  particulars  of  Livingstone's 
memorable  journeys  we  are  dependent  on 
what  he  called  his  "lined  journal."  It  was  a 
strongly  bound  quarto  volume  of  more  than 
eight  hundred  pages,  and  fitted  with  lock 
and  key.  The  writing  in  it  is  extraordinarily 
neat  and  clear  ;  but  there  are  pathetic  pages 
in  it  when  it  is  evident  that  the  writer  is 
shaking  with  fever,  yet  nevertheless  his  iron 
will  is  compelling  his  trembling  fingers  to  do 
their  office.  Everything  went  down  in  his 
journal.  Dr.  Blaikie  well  says  that  "  it  is 
built  up  in  a  random-rubble  style."  There 
are  frequent  prayers  and  poignant  religious 


IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  71 

reflections,  the  ejaculations  of  a  heart  charged 
to  overflowing  with  the  Divine  love  and 
human  compassion.  Immediately  following 
will  be  scientific  observations,  or  speculations 
on  some  problem  of  natural  history  or 
geological  structure.  The  various  incidents 
in  the  journey  are  all  recorded  with  the  sim- 
plicity and  freedom  from  sensationalism  of 
the  Evangelist  Mark.  Livingstone  never 
magnifies  a  peril,  and  dwells  not  at  all  on  his 
personal  heroism.  The  "lined"  journal 
ranks  as  one  of  his  "books,"  and  its  com- 
panions in  the  little  canister  were  only  a 
Sechuana  Pentateuch,  Thomson's  Tables,  a 
Nautical  Almanac,  and  a  Bible.  He  con- 
fesses that  "the  want  of  other  mental 
pabulum  is  felt  severely." 

A  misfortune  little  short  of  a  disaster  befel 
him  at  the  beginning  of  this  journey.  The 
greater  part  of  his  medicines  were  stolen. 
With  the  health  of  all  his  escort  to  see  to, 
and  with  fever  racking  his  own  frame,  it 
must  have  seemed  as  if  the  chances  of 
success  were  sensibly  diminished. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  Livingstone's 


72  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

rate  of  progress  with  that  of  ordinary 
traders.  The  trader  thought  seven  miles 
a  day  good  travelling,  and  even  so  he  only 
reckoned  on  travelling  ten  days  a  month. 
Seventy  miles  a  month  was,  in  his  eye,  satis- 
factory progress.  Livingstone  struck  an 
average  of  ten  miles  a  day,  and  travelled 
about  twenty  days  a  month.  Thus  he 
seldom  made  less  than  two  hundred  miles  a 
month.  He  travelled  from  Linyanti  to 
Loanda  (some  1,400  miles)  in  six  months 
and  a  half,  which  as  a  mere  feat  of  rapid 
African  transit  was  quite  amazing.  On  this 
journey  he  rode  hundreds  of  miles  on  the 
back  of  his  riding-ox,  Sindbad,  whose  temper 
was  uncertain  and  whose  idiosyncrasies  were 
pronounced.  We  shall  see  as  we  proceed 
that  Sindbad  was  by  no  means  always  a 
satisfactory  colleague. 

Complications  that  might  have  led  to  ugly 
developments  occurred  while  they  were  still 
in  Sekeletu's  sphere  of  influence  and  among 
his  people.  It  was  discovered  that  a  party 
of  Makololo  had  made  a  foray  to  the  north, 
and  had  destroyed  some  of  the  villages  of 


IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  73 

the  Balonda,  through  whose  country  they 
were  bound  to  pass.  Some  of  the  villagers 
had  been  seized  for  slaves,  and  Livingstone 
foresaw  reprisals  and  the  probability  that 
prejudice  would  be  excited  against  himself 
and  his  men.  He  therefore  insisted  that  the 
captives  should  be  restored,  as  a  means  of 
demonstrating  that  his  errand  was  one  of 
friendliness  and  peace.  This  act  helped  to 
disarm  the  hostility  of  the  Balonda  chief,  and 
Livingstone  afterwards  busied  himself  to 
form  a  commercial  alliance  between  the 
Balonda  and  the  Makololo.  It  was  always 
his  policy  to  overcome  the  jealousies  and 
hostilities  of  rival  tribes,  and  substitute  con- 
fidence based  on  mutual  interest  After 
leaving  the  country  of  the  Makololo,  and 
while  ascending  the  Barotse  valley,  the  rains 
were  almost  incessant,  and  the  expedition 
moved  forward  through  clouds  of  vapour  that 
hardly  ever  lifted.  For  a  whole  fortnight  at 
a  time  neither  sun  nor  moon  was  seen  suffi- 
ciently to  get  an  observation  for  latitude  and 
longitude.  The  very  tent  that  sheltered  him 
by  night  began  to  rot  with  the  excessive  and 


74  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

incessant  humidity.  In  spite  of  being  kept 
well  oiled,  the  guns  grew  rusty ;  and  the 
clothing  of  the  party  became  "mouldy  and 
rotten."  Part  of  the  way  lay  through  dense 
forest,  and  the  axe  had  continually  to  be 
plied.  The  waters  of  the  river  were  crowded 
with  hippopotami,  alligators,  and  at  times 
with  fish  ;  but  it  was  not  easy  to  get  food  in 
the  forest,  and  repeatedly  they  were  reduced 
to  living  on  such  roots  as  could  be  trusted, 
while  moles  and  mice  became  a  luxury. 
They  were  making  now  for  the  country  of 
the  great  chief  Shinto,  whose  fame  had 
travelled  far ;  and  early  in  the  New  Year  of 
1854  found  them  at  his  capital,  the  most 
imposing  town  that  Livingstone  had  seen  in 
Central  Africa.  In  the  town  were  two 
Portuguese  half-castes  who  were  trading  for 
slaves  and  ivory.  "  They  had  a  gang  of 
young  female  slaves  in  a  chain,  hoeing  the 
ground  in  front  of  their  encampment."  This 
was  the  first  time  that  Livingstone's  Barotse 
companions  had  seen  slaves  in  chains. 
"They  are  not  men,"  they  exclaimed  (meaning 
they  are  beasts),  "who  treat  their  children  so." 


IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  75 

The  explorer  was  received  with  great 
ceremony.  Shintd  sat  on  a  "  sort  of  throne  " 
covered  with  a  leopard's  skin,  under  a  banyan 
tree.  He  must  have  presented  a  somewhat 
bizarre  appearance,  for  Livingstone  tells  us 
"  he  had  on  a  checked  jacket  and  a  kilt  of 
scarlet  baize  edged  with  green.  Strings  of 
beads,  copper  armlets  and  bracelets  hung 
about  his  neck  and  limbs.  For  crown  he 
had  a  great  helmet  made  of  beads  and  sur- 
mounted with  a  huge  bunch  of  goose  feathers. 
The  subsequent  ceremony  was  as  odd  and 
elaborate  as  the  chiefs  wardrobe.  There 
were  terrifying  manoeuvres  of  savage  soldiers 
armed  to  the  teeth.  Livingstone  suspected 
that  their  object  was  to  cause  him  and  his 
friends  to  take  to  their  heels,  but  if  so  it  was 
a  failure.  At  last  the  new-comers  were 
presented  to  the  chief  by  the  orator  Sam- 
banza,  who  described  Livingstone's  exploits 
in  great  style,  dwelt  on  the  fact  that  he  had 
brought  back  the  captives  taken  by  the 
Makololo,  that  he  possessed  "  the  Word  from 
Heaven,"  that  he  sought  the  peace  of  all  the 
tribes,  and  was  opening  up  a  path  for  trade. 


76  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  it 

This  speech  was  a  great  effort,  and  its  effect 
was  by  no  means  minimised  that  the  orator 
wore  "  a  cloth  so  long  that  a  boy  carried  it 
after  him  as  a  train."  It  would  appear  that 
fashionable  habits  are  the  same  all  the  world 
over.  During  his  stay  at  Shinty's  court 
Livingstone  suffered  agonies  from  fever, 
accompanied  by  "  violent  action  of  the 
heart."  But  he  made  his  own  invariable 
impression  upon  the  chief  by  his  frankness, 
independence  and  courtesy.  He  preached 
to  the  assembled  tribesmen,  and  showed  the 
magic-lantern  pictures ;  and  he  pleaded 
urgently  with  Shinte  personally  against  the 
growing  practice  of  slavery.  When  his  stay 
was  over  Shint6  gave  him  the  last  evidence 
of  goodwill,  for  *'  he  drew  from  out  his  cloth- 
ing a  string  of  beads  and  the  end  of  a 
conical  shell,  which  is  considered  in  regions 
far  from  the  sea  of  as  great  value  as  the 
Lord  Mayor's  badge  is  in  London.  He 
hung  it  round  my  neck,  and  said,  '  There 
now  you  have  a  proof  of  my  friend- 
ship."* Shint6  also  bequeathed  to  the  ex- 
pedition   his    "principal   guide,"    Mtem^se, 


PREACHING   ON    THE   JOURNEY    Ui'-COUNTKY. 
V 


78  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

who  he  promised   would    conduct   them   to 
the  sea. 

Mtemdse  proved  to  be  by  no  means  an 
immaculate  person.  Among  other  delin-^ 
quencies  he  left  the  pontoon  behind,  a  loss 
that  was  keenly  felt.  He  had,  too,  a  preju- 
dice against  speedy  travel  which  Livingstone  , 
could  not  be  induced  to  share.  He  was 
useful,  however,  in  levying  tribute  of  food 
throughout  Shinty's  dominion,  and  evidently 
thought  Livingstone  a  great  fool  for  paying 
a  fair  price  for  what  could  have  been  had  for 
nothing.  Gradually  Shinty's  territory  was 
left  behind,  and  that  of  Katema  was 
invaded.  It  seemed  to  Livingstone  that  as 
they  moved  north  the  moral  conditions 
darkened.  At  times  the  great  horror  of 
heathenism  laid  hold  of  him.  Everywhere 
was  the  same  unrelieved  tragedy  of  brutality 
and  murder.  Sometimes  over  the  camp  fires 
his  savage  hosts  would  exult  in  their  customs. 
They  told  of  the  death  of  chiefs,  and  the 
slaughter  of  enough  of  their  subjects  to  be 
an  escort  to  the  nether  world.  The  further 
north     Livingstone     penetrated     the    more 


IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  79 

"  bloodily  superstitious "  did  the  people 
become.  Yet  he  must  eat  with  them,  chat 
with  them,  laugh  with  them  ;  and  the  im- 
pression of  such  religious  teaching  as  he 
could  impart  was,  alas !  so  superficial. 
Katema  proved  peaceable ;  but  his  people 
lived  under  the  perpetual  shadow  of  the 
slave-trade,  and  would  gladly  have  been 
taken  away  to  the  Makololo  country. 

The  beginning  of  March  found  them  for 
the  first  time  in  hostile  territory.  There  had 
been  much  rain  and  flood,  wading  and  swim- 
ming. Livingstone  himself  had  had  an 
adventure  that  thoroughly  alarmed  his  men, 
and  served  to  evoke  their  real  devotion. 
He  was  flung  from  his  ox  in  midstream,  and 
compelled  to  strike  out  for  the  opposite  bank. 
There  was  a  simultaneous  rush  on  the  part 
of  all  his  men  to  rescue  him.  Their  delight 
was  unbounded  when  they  found  he  could 
swim  like  themselves.  "  Who  carried  the 
white  man  across  the  river  but  himself," 
they  said  afterwards.  It  was  among  the 
Chiboques  that  the  expedition  came  nearest  to 
having  to  fight  for  their  lives  ;  and  bloodshed 


8o  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

was  only  averted  by  Livingstone's  wonderful 
patience  and  fearlessness.  He  sat  on  a 
campstool  with  his  double-barrelled  gun 
across  his  knees,  and  insisted  on  arguing 
with  the  chief  who  was  endeavouring  to 
levy  blackmail.  It  was  characteristic  of 
Livingstone  that  he  argued  the  legitimacy 
of  passing  through  their  country  on  the 
ground  that  the  land  belonged  to  God.  If 
their  gardens  had  been  damaged  compensa- 
tion would  have  been  paid,  but  the  earth  is 
the  Lord's.  "  They  did  not  attempt  to 
controvert  this,"  he  comments,  "  because  it  is 
in  accordance  with  their  own  ideas."  Finally 
he  told  them  that  if  there  was  to  be  a  fight 
they  must  begin  it,  and  the  guilt  be  on  their 
heads.  Matters  looked  critical  for  some 
hours ;  but  Livingstone's  tact  prevailed  and 
the  gift  of  an  ox  satisfied  them  for  the  time 
being.  They  had  more  trouble  later  before 
getting  quit  of  the  Chiboques,  but  there  was 
no  actual  outbreak.  There  was  thieving, 
however,  of  their  goods,  which  were  getting 
sadly  reduced ;  and  the  attitude  of  enmity 
and  treachery  added  to  the  gloom  of  a  very 


IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  8i 

gloomy  forest  through  which  a  way  had  to 
be  found.  So  thick  was  the  atmosphere  that 
the  hanging  creepers  could  not  be  seen,  and 
again  and  again  the  riders  were  swept  off  the 
backs  of  the  oxen.  On  one  occasion 
Sindbad  went  off  at  a  plunging  gallop,  the 
bridle  broke,  and  Livingstone  came  down 
backwards  on  the  crown  of  his  head.  At  the 
same  time  Sindbad  completed  the  triumph  by 
dealing  him  a  kick  on  the  thigh.  Livingstone 
makes  light  of  all  this,  only  remarking  that 
•'he  does  not  recommend  it  as  a  palliative 
for  fever."  Repeated  attacks  of  fever  had 
reduced  him  to  a  skeleton.  The  sodden 
blanket  which  served  as  a  saddle  caused 
abrasions  and  sores.  His  '*  projecting  bones  " 
were  chafed  on  the  hard  bed  at  nights.  He 
had  enough  burdens  to  bear  without  having 
to  dare  the  threats  of  savages.  At  the  last 
outpost  of  the  Chiboque  country  their  two 
guides  turned  traitors  and  thieves,  and 
escaped  with  the  larger  portion  of  their  beads, 
so  necessary  for  barter.  This  was  almost 
the  last  straw  ;  and  there  was  mutiny  among 
Livingstone's   men,   for  they  declared   they 


82  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

would  go  home.  He  was  in  despair ;  and 
having  finally  told  them  that  in  that  case  he 
would  go  on  alone,  he  went  into  his  little 
tent  and  flung  himself  upon  his  knees,  **  with 
the  mind  directed  to  Him  who  hears  the 
sighing  of  the  soul."  Presently  one  of  the 
men  "crept  into  the  tent  "  We  will  never 
leave  you,"  he  said.  **  Do  not  be  dis- 
heartened. Wherever  you  lead  we  will 
follow."  The  others  took  up  the  chorus. 
They  were  all  his  children,  they  told  him,  and 
they  would  die  for  him.  They  had  only 
spoken  in  the  bitterness  of  their  feeling  and 
because  they  felt  they  could  do  nothing. 

They  had  one  more  parley  with  a  bully- 
ing chief,  but  came  out  victorious,  thanks 
to  the  opportune  appearance  of  a  young 
military  half-caste  Portuguese,  who  after- 
wards showed  them  every  hospitality.  More- 
over, they  were  now  able  to  dispose  of 
certain  tusks  of  ivory  presented  to  them  by 
Sekeletu,  the\  proceeds  of  which  clothed  the 
whole  party  and  partially  armed  them. 

The  journey  was  easy  now,  save  that  the 
intrepid  leader  had  had  twenty-seven  attacks 


IV  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  83 

of  fever,  and  suffered  one  more  humiliation 
at  the  hands  of  Sindbad,  being  compelled 
inadvertently  to  bathe  in  the  Lombe.  He 
had  to  reassure  his  men  as  they  drew  near 
to  the  Atlantic,  for  they  began  to  be  troubled 
lest  after  all  he  should  leave  them  to  the 
cruel  mercies  of  other  white  men.  "  Nothing 
will  happen  to  you  but  what  happens  to 
me,"  he  told  them.  "  We  have  stood  by 
one  another  hitherto,  and  will  do  so  till  the 
last."  In  course  of  time  they  crossed  the 
sterile  plains  near  Loanda,  and  gazed  upon 
the  sea.  "We  marched  along  with  our 
father,"  they  said  afterwards,  "believing  that 
what  the  ancients  had  always  told  us  was 
true,  that  the  world  has  no  end ;  but  all  at 
once  the  world  said  to  us,  *  I  am  finished, 
there  is  no  more  of  me.' " 

It  was  a  weak,  worn,  haggard  figure  that 
on  the  31  St  May,  1854,  entered  the  city  of 
Loanda,  "labouring  under  great  depression 
of  spirits."  The  fever  had  brought  on 
chronic  dysentery.  He  could  not  sit  on 
his  ox  ten  minutes  at  a  time.  His  mind 
was  "depressed  by  disease  and  care."     His 


84  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  iv 

heart  misgave  him  as  to  his  welcome.  But 
he  had  finished  his  course.  He  had 
accomplished  his  superhuman  task.  He 
had  reached  the  coast.  He  had^  protected 
and  guided  his  faithful  company.  He  had 
robbed  no  man's  goods  and  taken  no  man's 
life ;  and  all  the  fourteen  hundred  miles 
he  had  preached  the  Gospel  and  argued 
for  freedom  and  peace. 


.   CHAPTER  V 

Livingstone  found  Loanda  a  very  de- 
cayed town,  but  he  did  not  fail  to  win 
many  friendships.  Mr.  Gabriel,  the  one  Eng- 
lishman in  the  place,  was  overwhelmingly 
kind,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop 
scarcely  less  so.  English  men-of-war  were 
in  the  harbour  also,  keeping  both  eyes 
open  for  slave  ships,  and  Livingstone  was 
able  to  take  his  men  on  board  and  show 
them  the  cannon  with  which  England  "  was 
going  to  destroy  the  slave  trade."  He  him- 
self recovered  only  very  slowly  from  his 
condition  of  absolute  emaciation,  and  in 
August  had  a  severe  relapse,  which  left 
him  a  mere  skeleton.  Everybody  was  kind 
to  him,  physicking  him,  and  nourishing 
him,  and,  what  was  most  of  all  valuable 
in  his  depression,  providing  him  with  lively 

8s 


86  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

and   interesting  company.     He  fell  in  with 
their  plans  for  him  very  gratefully,  but  on 
pne    point    he    was    adamant.     They    had 
wished   to   persuade   him   to  go  home   and 
rest.     The    British   captains   offered   him   a 
passage   to   St.  Helena.     When  this   failed 
they   urged   him    to    take   the   mail-packet, 
the "  **  Forerunner,"   by   which   all   his   own 
precious  diaries,  and  letters,  and   scientific 
papers,  with  maps  and  so  forth,  were  to  be 
sent.     Despite  his  weakness   it  was  not  in 
him  to   be   idle,    and    he    had    laboriously 
accomplished  the  writing  of  this  big  budget 
of    despatches   in   time    for    the   mail-boat. 
On  April  23rd,   1852,  he  had  told  his  wife 
that  he  would  rejoin  her  in  two  years.     It 
was  now  August,  1854,  and  his  heart  cried 
out  for  wife  and  children.     But   one   thing 
stood   in   the   way.     He  had  promised   his 
twenty-seven    "  boys "    to    take   them   back 
to  their  own  country  ;   and  they  were  there 
in    Loanda   on   the    faith   of    Livingstone's 
word.     It  did  not  consist  with  his  sense  of 
honour  to  leave  them  at  Loanda,  while  he 
went  home  for   a   holiday,    and   he   refused 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  87 

all  the  tempting  offers.  The  reward  of 
honourable  men  does  not  always  come  as 
it  came  to  him.  The  "Forerunner"  went 
down  with  all  hands  but  one,  and  he 
escaped  an  almost  certain  fate  because  he 
kept  his  promise.  But,  alas  !  all  his  precious 
papers,  the  fruit  of  so  much  labour,  were 
destroyed  ;  and  he  had  to  take  up  the 
drudgery  of  doing  everything  over  again. 
It  was  the  form  of  toil  most  irksome  to 
him  ;  but  he  just  turned  to  and  did  it.  It 
was  his  way. 

Fortunately  he  had  not  gone  far  on  the 
homeward  track  when  this  news  reached 
him,  and  there  was  no  lack  of  hospitality. 
He  was  making  a  circuit  round  about 
Loanda  to  visit  some  of  the  more  noted 
Portuguese  settlements  and  estates,  always 
with  an  eye  to  the  better  cultivation  of  the 
country  and  the  interest  of  inland  trade. 
The  re-writing  of  his  papers  involved  long 
and  tedious  delay,  and  there  was  more 
trouble  through  fever  among  his  men.  The 
year  of  1855  dawned  before  he  left  a 
hospitable  Portuguese  home,  and  struck  out 


88  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

along  the  old  trail.  It  is  worth  while  to 
remember  here  that  whereas  the  expedition 
travelled  from  Linyanti  to  Loanda  in  six 
and  a  half  months,  it  took  twice  that  time 
to  return.  It  was  September,  1855,  before 
they  saw  Linyanti  again. 

The  homeward  journey  was  not  devoid  of 
incident  and  excitement.  The  passage 
through  the  Chiboque  territory  was  once 
again  troublesome.  Just  when  Livingstone 
was  most  anxious  to  be  himself,  he  fell  a 
victim  to  rheumatic  fever.  For  eight  days 
he  lay  in  his  tent,  tossing  and  groaning  with 
pain  ;  and  it  was  twenty  days  before  he  began 
to  recover,  and  the  old  ambition  to  be  on  the 
march  came  back  to  him.  His  men 
objected,  for  he  was  too  weak  to  move ;  and 
at  the  physical  crisis  a  quarrel  broke  out 
between  his  men  and  some  of  the  Chiboques. 
A  blow  was  struck,  for  which  ample  com- 
pensation was  paid ;  but  with  the  leader  on 
his  back  the  importunities  of  the  tribesmen 
increased,  and  matters  became  threatening. 
When  a  forward  move  was  made,  an 
organised  attack  on  the  baggage  took  place, 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  89 

and  shots  were  even  fired,  though  nobody 
was  hurt.  It  was  then  that  Livingstone 
snatched  up  his  six-barrelled  revolver  and 
"  staggered  along  the  path "  till  most 
opportunely  he  encountered  the  hostile  chief. 
"The  sight  of  the  six  barrels  gaping  into  his 
stomach  and  my  own  ghastly  visage  looking 
daggers  at  his  face  seemed  to  produce  an 
instant  revolution  in  his  martial  feelings." 
He  suddenly  became  the  most  peaceable 
man  in  all  Africa,  and  protested  his  goodwill. 
Livingstone  advised  a  practical  illustration 
of  this,  and  bade  him  go  home.  The  Chief 
explained  that  he  would  do  so,  only  he  was 
afraid  of  being  shot  in  the  back!  "If  I 
wanted  to  kill  you,"  rejoined  Livingstone, 
"I  could  shoot  you  in  the  face  as  well." 
One  of  his  men,  afraid  for  Livingstone's  own 
safety,  advised  him  not  to  give  the  Chief  a 
chance  of  shooting  him  in  the  back,  where- 
upon Livingstone  retorted,  "  Tell  him  to 
observe  that  I  am  not  afraid  of  him,"  and 
mounting  his  ox  rode  away  triumphantly. 

Plodding  steadily  onward,  they  arrived  on 
the  8th  June  at  a  spot  famous  for  one  of 


90  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

Livingstone's  most  notable  geographical 
discoveries,  which  he  afterwards  learned  was 
actual  confirmation  of  Sir  Roderick  Mur- 
chison's  theory,  which  the  latter  had  worked 
out  in  his  own  arm-chair  as  the  only  one  that 
would  satisfy  what  was  known  of  the  African 
river  systems,  and  the  geological  formation. 
Livingstone  had  just  forded  a  wide  river 
called  the  Lotembwa,  only  three  feet  deep, 
and  had  failed  to  remark  in  which  direction 
it  was  flowing.  He  believed  it  to  be  the  same 
river  that  flowed  south  from  Lake  Dilolo,  but 
a  Chief  pointed  out  to  him  that  this  was  not 
so,  for  the  former  river  flowed  north  into 
the  Kasai,  one  of  the  main  tributaries  of  the 
Congo.  The  latter  flowed  south  into  the 
Zambesi.  Livingstone  now  realised  that  he 
was  "standing  on  the  central  ridge  that 
divided  these  two  systems " ;  and  what 
amazed  him  most  was  that  these  vast  river 
systems  had  their  rise,  not  in  a  chain  of  lofty 
mountains,  but  on  flat  plains  not  more  than 
4,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  expedition  now  made  slow  and  peace- 
ful progress  along  their  former  route,  being 


▼  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  91 

welcomed  everywhere  by  their  old  friends 
with  demonstrations  of  joy  and  astonishment. 
They  distributed  presents  to  all  who  had 
prospered  them  on  their  way,  and  left  none 
but  friendly  memories  behind  them.  When 
at  the  end  of  July  they  reached  Libonta  their 
progress  became  a  triumphal  procession. 
His  men  arrayed  themselves  in  white 
European  clothing,  swaggered  like  soldiers, 
and  called  themselves  his  "  braves."  During 
the  time  of  service  they  sat  with  their  guns 
over  their  shoulders.  '*  You  have  opened  a 
path  for  us,"  said  the  people,  "  and  we  shall 
have  sleep."  The  ovations  continued  all 
down  the  Barotse  vallev.  There  were  no 
drawbacks,  except  that  many  of  the  men 
found  that  during  their  absence  some  of  their 
wives  had  sought  and  found  other  husbands. 
Livingstone  advised  them  to  console  them- 
selves with  those  that  remained.  "  Even  so, 
you  have  as  many  as  I  have,"  he  reminded 
them.  At  Linyanti  Livingstone  found  his 
waggon  and  belongings  perfectly  safe ;  and 
some  stores,  and  a  letter  a  year  old,  from 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Moffat.     Sekeletu's  gratifica- 


92  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

tion  knew  no  bounds.  A  grand  new  uniform 
had  been  sent  him  as  a  present  from  the 
coast,  and  when  he  wore  it  to  church  on 
Sunday  it  produced  a  greater  impression 
than  the  sermon.  It  is  worth  remarking  that 
Sekeletu  at  once  began  to  set  on  foot  a  trade 
in  ivory  with  the  Portuguese  at  the  coast,  in 
fulfilment  of  Livingstone's  policy. 

For  eight  weeks  Livingstone  remained  at 
Linyanti.  He  found  plenty  to  occupy  him. 
He  was  once  again  the  guide,  philosopher, 
and  friend  to  all  the  tribe.  He  had  doctoring 
to  do,  and  operations  to  perform.  He  found 
personal  interviews  on  religious  subjects 
more  satisfactory  than  the  public  services, 
and  he  was  now,  as  ever,  supremely  anxious 
that  these  people  should  owe  their  souls  to 
his  ministry.  He  had  letters  to  write,  and 
journals  to  transcribe,  and  new  observations 
to  make.  He  had  all  the  odd  jobs  to  do  that 
had  accumulated  during  his  absence.  He 
found  Sekeletu  a  willing  pupil  in  his  ideas  on 
commerce,  and  on  the  removal  of  the  tribe 
to  the  healthier  and  wealthier  Barotse  valley. 
Especially  he  had  to  think  out  the  problem 


Y  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  93 

of  his  next  great  adventure  to  the  East 
Coast.  His  inclination  decidedly  was  to 
trace  the  course  of  the  Zambesi  to  Quilimane 
and  the  sea.  But  against  this  was  to  be  set 
the  fact  that  it  had  an  evil  reputation  for  the 
savagery  of  some  of  the  tribes  along  the 
banks.  Certain  Arabs  whom  he  had  met 
had  strongly  counselled  him  to  strike  up 
country  to  the  North-East  and  make  for 
Zanzibar  by  the  south  of  Lake  Tanganyika. 
The  tribes  were  reported  to  be  peaceable, 
and  the  villages  and  food  supplies  plentiful. 
If  he  decided  to  explore  the  Zambesi,  the 
problem  of  the  north  or  south  shore  was  an 
important  one.  The  north  shore  was 
reported  to  be  very  rocky  and  broken,  and 
consequently  specially  difficult  for  transport. 

Either  shore  was  likely  to  be  dangerous  to 
the  oxen  on  account  of  tsetse  fly.  All  these 
considerations  had  to  be  weighed,  and  the 
final  decision  was  to  risk  the  dangers  of 
the  tribes  along  the  Zambesi,  and  to  take  the 
north  shore,  because  on  Livingstone's  map 
Tette,  the  farthest  inland  station  of  the 
Portuguese,  was  marked  as  being  on  the  north 


94  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

of  the  river.  This  turned  out  to  be  untrue. 
Having  settled  his  course  he  made  his  pre- 
parations. Sekeletu  proved  himself  a  most 
magnificent  ally.  Livingstone's  new  escort 
was  composed  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
with  ten  slaughter  oxen  and  three  of  the 
best  riding  oxen.  He  was  provided  with 
stores  of  food,  and  given  tribute  rights  over 
all  tribes  subject  to  Sekeletu.  When  we 
consider  that  Livingstone  had  no  one  to 
finance  him,  and  that  the  success  of  his 
travels  depended  on  the  goodwill  of  native 
chiefs  like  Sekeletu,  we  begin  to  understand 
the  unique  influence  which  he  exercised  over 
the  native  mind.  Those  who  knew  him  never 
failed  him  at  a  pinch ;  they  never  deserted 
him  in  his  need ;  they  lent  their  best  aid  to 
carry  through  his  enterprises ;  and  gave  him 
every  tangible  proof  that  can  be  given  from 
one  man  to  another  of  confidence,  honour 
and  love. 

Perhaps  before  we  set  out  on  this  new 
journey,  we  may  quote  from  Livingstone 
himself  two  passages  illustrative  of  the 
secret  of  his  influence.     In  the  first  he  says, 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  95 

"  No  one  ever  gains  much  influence  in  this 
country  without  purity  and  uprightness.  The 
acts  of  a  stranger  are  keenly  scrutinised  by 
both  old  and  young,  and  seldom  is  the  judg- 
ment pronounced  even  by  a  heathen  unfair 
or  uncharitable.  I  have  heard  women  speak- 
ing in  admiration  of  a  white  man  because  he 
was  pure,  and  never  was  guilty  of  any  secret 
immorality.  Had  he  been,  they  would  have 
known  it,  and,  untutored  heathen  though  they 
be,  would  have  despised  him  in  consequence." 
This  illustrates  Livingstone's  favourite 
doctrine  that  it  is  the  missionary's  life  that  is 
the  most  powerful  sermon.  That  his  teach- 
ing was  partially  understood  may  be  gathered 
from  the  story  of  Mamire,  Sekeletu's  step- 
father, who  on  coming  to  say  good-bye,  used 
words  like  these :  "  You  are  now  going 
among  people  who  cannot  be  trusted,  because 
we  have  used  them  badly,  but  you  go  with  a 
different  message  from  any  they  ever  heard 
before,  and  Jesus  will  be  with  you,  and  help 
you,  though  among  enemies."  It  was  a 
gracious  and  discerning  God-speed. 

The  route  selected  led  Livingstone  across 


96  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

what  we  know  to-day  as  Rhodesia,  and 
which  would  have  been  much  more  appropri- 
ately named  Livingstonia.  It  passed  to  the 
north  of  the  land  inhabited  by  the  formid- 
able and  dreaded  Matabele.  The  tribes 
bordering  on  the  Makololo  country  had  no 
reason  to  love  their  oppressive  neighbours ; 
and  this  fact  had  inspired  the  fears  expressed 
in  Mamire's  words.  It  was  on  the  3rd  of 
November,  1855,  that  the  final  departure  from 
Linyanti  was  made ;  and  Sekeletu  accom- 
panied the  expedition  along  the  first  stage. 
He  took  the  opportunity  of  howing  Living- 
stone an  extraordinary  kindness,  for  the 
journey  began  in  a  terrific  tropical  thunder- 
storm. Livingstone's  clothing  had  gone  on, 
and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  sleep  on 
the  cold  ground.  Sekeletu,  however,  took  his 
own  blanket  and  wrapped  it  about  the 
missionary,  lying  himself  uncovered  through 
the  chill  night.  "I  was  much  affected," 
writes  Livingstone,  "  by  this  little  act  of 
genuine  kindness.  If  such  men  must  perish 
by  the  advance  of  civilisation,  as  certain  races 
of  animals  do  before  others,  it  is  a  pity/ 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  97 

It  was  no  great  distance  to  the  famous 
falls,  the  rumour  of  which  had  often  reached 
Livingstone,  and  which  he  was  the  first  white 
man  to  visit.  The  falls  were  originally 
called  Shongwe.  Sebituane  used  to  ask 
Livingstone  whether  in  his  own  country  he 
had  "  smoke  that  sounds,"  referring  to  the 
pillars  of  vapour,  and  the  far-carrying  roar 
of  the  river  as  it  plunged  into  the  chasm 
beneath.  Sliding  down  the  river  in  their 
canoes,  they  came  to  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  falls,  when  some  of  the  natives  who 
were  expert  in  the  management  of  the 
rapids  transferred  Livingstone  to  a  lighter 
canoe,  and  with  practised  dexterity  guided 
it  to  the  central  island — the  "  Goat  Island  "  of 
the  Zambesi  Falls — "  on  the  edge  of  the 
lip  over  which  the  water  rolls."  This  ad- 
venture can  only  be  made  when  the  river 
is  low,  but  it  was  successfully  accomplished, 
and  Livingstone  was  able  to  gaze  down 
into  the  fissure  into  which  the  great  river 
plunges  and  apparently  disappears.  Then 
he  saw  that  "  a  stream  of  a  thousand  yards 
broad    leaped    down   a   hundred    feet,    and 


98  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

then  became  suddenly  compressed  into  a 
space  of  fifteen  or  twenty  yards."  He 
spent  many  hours  contemplating  its  beauties, 
noting  all  its  fascinations,  and  pondering 
the  scientific  problem  of  its  origin.  He 
then  permitted  himself  the  only  act  of 
nationalism — *'  personal  vanity  "  he  used  to 
call  it — that  he  ever  indulged  in.  He 
changed  the  native  name  to  that  of  the 
Victoria  Falls  in  honour  of  the  great  White 
Queen ;  and  returning  to  the  island  next 
day  with  Sekeletu  he  carved  his  initials 
and  the  date  on  a  tree,  and  planted  "  about 
a  hundred  peach  and  apricot  stones  and 
a  quantity  of  coffee-seeds,"  with  the  remark 
that  "were  there  no  hippopotami,  he  had 
no  doubt  this  would  be  the  parent  of  all 
the  gardens  which  may  yet  be  in  this  new 
country." 

Sekeletu  now  returned  home,  having 
provided  a  company  of  114  men  to  carry 
the  tusks  to  the  coast,  and  the  expedition 
set  forth  in  a  northward  direction.  Many 
wars  had  decimated  the  country,  but  there 
were   ample   evidences   of  the   savagery  of 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  9^ 

the  people.  He  found  one  old  chief  living 
in  a  house  surrounded  with  human  skulls, 
much  like  Giant  Pope's  cave  in  the  "  Pil- 
grim's Progress."  Many  of  the  skulls  were 
of  mere  children,  slain  by  the  chief's  father 
"  to  show  his  fierceness."  The  Batoka 
tribe  could  be  recognised  because  of  their 
custom  of  knocking  out  the  upper  front 
teeth  at  the  age  of  puberty,  which  gave 
them  an  uncouth  appearance  and  a  hideous 
laugh.  He  found  them  "  very  degraded " 
and  much  addicted  to  smoking  "  the 
mutokwana,"  a  pernicious  weed  which 
causes  a  species  of  frenzy,  and  which  is 
often  resorted  to  before  battle  as  the  native 
form  of  "  Dutch  courage." 

On  the  4th  of  December  they  had  a  fore- 
taste of  coming  peril,  in  the  person  of  a 
howling  dervish,  who  came  at  Livingstone 
with  his  lips  covered  with  foam,  and  with  a 
small  battle-axe  in  his  hand.  "  I  felt  it 
would  be  a  sorry  way  to  leave  the  world,  to 
get  my  head  chopped  by  a  mad  savage  " — 
but  he  would  show  no  fear,  and  by  and  by 
the  paroxysm  of  frenzy  passed  away.      Later 


loo  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

on,  they  heard  the  tribesmen  exulting  over 
them.  *'  God  has  apportioned  them  to  us," 
they  cried.  Still  there  was  no  outbreak,  and 
the  expedition  moved  on  unmolested.  The 
country  was  now  seen  to  be  swarming  with 
inhabitants.  They  had  no  notion  of  any 
invasion  of  their  territory  that  did  not  mean 
conquest  and  plunder;  but  when  the 
villagers  listened  to  Christ's  promise  of 
"  Peace  on  earth,  goodwill  to  men,"  they 
expressed  satisfaction.  "Give  us  rest  and 
sleep,"  they  pleaded.  The  chief  Monze, 
further  on,  was  urgent  that  a  white  man 
should  come  and  live  among  his  people,  and 
his  sister  seconded  him,  exclaiming  that  it 
would  be  joy  "  to  sleep  without  dreaming  of 
anyone  pursuing  one  with  a  spear."  Living- 
stone must  have  felt  like  Dante  with  the 
vision  of  the  Inferno  before  his  eyes. 

They  travelled  on  through  a  healthy  and 
beautiful  region,  where  Livingstone  could 
indulge  to  the  full  his  love  of  natural 
beauties,  and  study  the  habits  of  the  wonder- 
ful beasts  and  birds.  They  kept  well  to  the 
north  of  the  Zambesi ;  and  the  first  organised 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  loi 

hostility  awaited  them  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Zambesi  and  the  Loangwa.  There  is 
no  more  striking  or  characteristic  story  than 
this  in  the  whole  of  Livingstone's  biography. 
The  chief  Mbm-uma  had  shown  many  signs 
of  treachery,  and  had  roused  the  countryside 
against  the  expedition.  It  seemed  almost 
certain  that  the  passage  of  the  Loangwa 
would  be  contested.  The  people  were 
collecting  in  large  numbers,  and  remained  in 
obstinate  suspicion  at  a  distance  from  the 
camp.  Livingstone's  own  reflections  are  to 
be  gathered  from  the  entries  in  his  Journal. 
On  January  14th — for  1856  has  come — he 
writes,  "  Thank  God  for  His  great  mercies 
this  far.  How  soon  I  may  be  called  before 
Him,  my  righteous  Judge,  I  know  not.  .  .  . 
On  Thy  word  I  lean.  The  cause  is  Thine. 
See,  O  Lord,  how  the  heathens  rise  up 
against  me  as  they  did  against  Thy  Son." 
Then  comes  a  very  characteristic  sentence : 
"It  seems  a  pity  that  the  facts  about  the  two 
healthy  longitudinal  regions  should  not  be 
known  in  Christendom.  Thy  will  be  done." 
Later  on  In  the  evening  the  signs  are  even 

LIBRARY 


I02  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

more  ominous.  "  Felt  much  turmoil  of 
spirit  in,  view  of  having  all  my  plans  for  the 
welfare  of  this  great  region  and  teeming 
population  knocked  on  the  head  by  savages 
to-morrow.  But  Jesus  came  and  said,  '  All 
power  is  given  to  Me  in  Heaven  and  on 
earth.  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations 
.  .  .  and  lo !  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.*  It  is  the  word 
of  a  Gentleman  of  the  most  sacred  and 
strictest  honour  and  there  is  an  end  on't.  I 
will  not  cross  furtively  by  night  as  I  intended. 
It  would  appear  as  flight,  and  should  such  a 
man  as  I  flee  ?  Nay,  verily,  I  shall  take  obser- 
vations for  longitude  and  latitude  to-night, 
though  they  may  be  the  last.  I  feel  quite 
calm  now,  thank  God."  The  next  day  he 
superintended  the  crossing  of  the  river,  under 
the  aegis  of  natives  armed  to  the  teeth,  reserv- 
ing for  himself  the  post  of  honour,  the  last 
man  in  the  last  canoe.  He  stepped  in, 
pushed  off,  thanked  the  astonished  savages, 
and  wished  them  peace.  Then  "passing 
through  the  midst  of  them,  he  went  his  way." 
They  had  never  seen   an  enemy   like  this. 


V  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  103 

New  perils  arose  in  the  country  of  the 
powerful  chief  Mpende ;  and  again  Living- 
stone had  little  hope  of  avoiding  a  skirmish. 
But  he  succeeds  in  explaining  that  he  is  an 
Englishman,  and  shows  them  his  white  skin. 
"  No,"  said  they,  "  we  never  saw  skin  so  white 
as  that.  You  must  be  one  of  the  tribe  that 
loves  the  black  men."  He  accepted  the 
compliment,  and  when  later  he  needed  a 
canoe  to  take  a  sick  man  across  the  river, 
Mpende,  exclaimed,  "this  white  man  is  truly 
one  of  our  friends.  See  how  he  lets  me  know 
his  afflictions." 

He  was  now  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
and  the  natives  were  peaceful.  The  2nd 
of  March  saw  the  expedition  within  eight 
miles  of  Tette,  and  Portuguese  officers  came 
forward  to  help  and  welcome  him.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  making  arrangements  for  his 
Makololo  to  be  cared  for  until  his  return,  for 
he  could  now  descend  the  river  by  boat  to 
Quilimane.  Nothing  but  death,  he  told  them, 
would  prevent  his  return.  The  leader  of  his 
escort,  however,  Sekwebu,  he  had  resolved 
to  take  to  England  with  him.     The  result 


I04  DRrLrVINGSTONE  chap. 

was  tragic.  The  extraordinary  experience 
of  a  sea  voyage  unhinged  his  reason  ;  and 
when  Mauritius  was  reached,  he  sprang  over- 
board and  was  lost.  On  December  12th, 
1856,  David  Livingstone  reached  Dover, 
having  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck  off  the 
Bay  of  Tunis,  and  having  crossed  the  Con- 
tinent from  Marseilles  to  Calais.  He  had 
girdled  Africa  from  West  to  East.  He  was 
universally  recognised  as  the  greatest  of 
explorers.  Well  might  Dr.  Moffat  write  to 
him,  "  the  honours  awaiting  you  at  home 
would  be  enough  to  make  a  score  of  light 
heads  dizzy.  .  .  .  You  have  succeeded 
beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectation  in 
laying  open  a  world  of  immortal  beings,  all 
needing  the  Gospel,  and  at  a  time,  now  that 
war  is  over,  when  people  may  exert  their 
energies  on  an  object  compared  with  which 
that  which  has  occupied  the  master  minds  of 
Europe,  and  expended  so  much  money,  and 
shed  so  much  blood,  is  but  a  phantom." 
Livingstone's  own  simple  words  are  the  best 
conclusion  of  this  chapter :  "  None  has 
cause   for   more  abundant   gratitude   to   his 


ir  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  lo^ 

fellow-men  and  to  his  Maker  than  I  have ; 
and  may  God  grant  that  the  effect  on  my 
mind  be  such  that  I  may  be  more  humbly 
devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Author  of  all 
our  mercies." 


CHAPTER  VI 

From  the  end  of  1856  till  March  of  1859 
Livingstone  was  home.  He  had  been 
parted  from  wife  and  children  for  five  long 
years,  and  nobody  realised  more  than  he 
did  what  a  burden  of  anxiety  Mrs.  Living- 
stone had  carried  all  that  while.  One  of  his 
greatest  sorrows  was  the  death  of  his  father, 
whom  he  had  longed  to  see  again,  but  who 
died  during  Livingstone's  voyage  home.  The 
honours  bestowed  upon  him  were  numberless. 
The  freedom  of  the  City  of  Glasgow  and  the 
City  of  Edinburgh,  honorary  doctors  degrees 
from  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  the  Gold 
Medal  of  the  Geographical  Society  were  only 
a  few  of  his  distinctions.  He  wrote  his  book 
entitled  "  Missionary  Travels  "  in  1857,  and 
it   was   a   phenomenal    success,    the  simple, 

direct,    unassuming    style    being    the    most 

106 


CH.  VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  107 

appropriate  clothing  for  the  thoughts  and 
deeds  of  the  man.  It  may  be  said  that 
Livingstone's  writings  were  in  a  marked 
degree  a  revelation  of  his  personality  and 
character.  You  could  not  read  the  narrative 
without  wondering  at  the  achievements,  and 
conceiving  a  personal  affection  for  the  author. 
In  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  there  was 
extraordinary  eagerness  to  see  and  hear  him. 
The  most  distinguished  people  competed 
for  the  honour  of  entertaining  him,  the 
Universities  showed  exceptional  enthusiasm, 
while  in  humbler  places  which  had  associa- 
tions with  his  fame  the  celebrations  were 
touching  in  their  love  and  pride.  Much  of 
the  public  laudation  was  distasteful  to  him, 
but  he  greatly  enjoyed  the  intercourse  now 
open  to  him  with  men  and  women  of  kindred 
spirit  in  all  churches,  and  among  all  pro- 
fessions. One  problem  in  regard  to  the 
future  was  settled  in  a  characteristic  way. 
Believing,  as  he  did,  that  it  was  his  life- 
mission  to  open  up  this  great  new  country, 
and  do  pioneer  work  in  the  African  interior, 
he  felt  that  he  ought  to  resign  his  position 


io8  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

under  the  London  Missionary  Society,  as 
some  of  its  supporters  might  not  approve  of 
this  kind  of  work  being  undertaken  by  one  of 
its  agents.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
exceedingly  anxious  that  the  work  of  the 
Society  should  not  suffer,  and  regarded  it  as 
his  own  duty  to  provide  a  substitute. 
Accordingly  he  arranged  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  John  Moffat,  to  become  a  missionary 
to  the  Makololo,  promising  him  ;^500  for 
outfit,  and  ;^i50  a  year  for  five  years  as 
salary,  besides  other  sums  amounting  in  all 

to  ;^I,400. 

His  own  immediate  future  was  determined 
by  the  offer  from  Lord  Palmerston  of  the 
post  of  Consul  at  Quilimane  and  Com- 
mander of  an  expedition  for  exploring 
Eastern  and  Central  Africa.  He  was  to 
take  out  a  light  paddle  steamer  suitable  for 
the  navigation  of  the  Zambesi  ;  and  his 
colleagues  were  to  include  a  botanist,  a 
mining  expert,  an  artist,  and  a  ship  en- 
gineer. This  offer  was  cordially  accepted 
and  all  arrangements  made  for  departure. 

There   will   always  be  some   people,    the 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  109 

victims  of  the  water-tight  compartment 
theory  of  life,  who  will  hold  that  a  man 
cannot  be  a  minister  or  a  missionary  if  he 
is  anything  else.  These  people  believe  that 
if  a  man  becomes  an  explorer  he  ceases 
to  be  a  missionary.  To  be  consistent  they 
ought  to  believe  that  when  Paul  practised 
as  a  tent-maker  he  ceased  to  be  an  apostle, 
or  that  a  bishop  becomes  a  secular  person 
if  he  attends  to  his  parliamentary  duties. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  Livingstone  held 
no  such  impossible  conception  of  the  minis- 
try. He  never  at  any  time  ceased  to  be 
a  missionary.  All  his  work  was  regarded 
by  him  as  sacred,  because  it  was  done  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  humanity. 
The  ends  that  he  pursued  till  the  close  of 
his  life  were  essentially  the  same  that  he 
had  sought  hitherto — the  Kingdom  of  God 
and  His  righteousness. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  addresses 
delivered  by  Livingstone  during  this  visit, 
and  one  which  produced  the  most  lasting 
effect,  was  to  a  distinguished  University 
audience  in  the  Senate  House  at  Cambridge. 


no  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

It  was  a  magnificent  and  irresistible  appeal 
for  missionaries.  He  was  amazed  that 
some  of  our  societies  had  to  go  abroad  to 
Germany  for  missionaries  because  of  the 
lack  of  the  missionary  spirit  at  home.  He 
repudiated  the  talk  about  sacrifice.  He 
had  made  no  sacrifice  worthy  to  be  men- 
tioned in  the  same  breath  as  the  Great 
Sacrifice  made  for  mankind  by  Christ.  He 
closed  with  this  impressive  appeal :  "I  beg 
to  direct  your  attention  to  Africa;  I  know 
that  in  a  few  years  I  shall  be  cut  off  in 
that  country,  which  is  now  open  :  do  not 
let  it  be  shut  again  !  I  go  back  to  Africa 
to  try  to  make  an  open  path  for  commerce 
and  Christianity  ;  do  you  carry  out  the 
work  which  I  have  begun.  I  leave  it  with 
you ! " 

It  was  by  such  glowing  words  as  these 
that  he  enforced  on  English  audiences  his 
favourite  theme  that  "the  end  of  the  geo- 
graphical feat  is  the  beginning  of  the 
missionary  enterprise." 

Fresh  from  the  ovations  and  honours 
which     reached     their    culmination    in    the 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  in 

grand  final  banquet  at  the  Freemason's 
Hall,  at  which  foreign  statesmen,  dukes, 
earls,  bishops,  and  scientific  magnates  vied 
with  one  another  in  celebrating  his  fame, 
Livingstone  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  H.M. 
Colonial  Steamer  "  Pearl."  Nothing  had 
been  wanting  to  his  success.  He  was  now 
rich,  famous,  powerful,  the  accredited  re- 
presentative of  the  greatest  Government  in 
the  world.  Instead  of  having  to  provide 
for  his  journeys  of  exploration  out  of  a 
meagre  salary  and  the  generosity  of  African 
chiefs,  he  had  the  wealth  of  England 
behind  him  and  limitless  goodwill.  On  the 
deck  of  the  "  Pearl  "  were  the  sections  of 
the  little  steam-launch  "  Ma  Robert,"  which 
a  philanthropic  firm  had  sold  him  "as  a 
great  bargain  for  the  good  of  the  cause," 
and  which  was  the  most  ill-constructed, 
clumsy,  and  extravagant  vessel  that  ever 
ruined  the  hopes  of  its  owner.  Going  back 
with  him  was  his  wife  and  his  youngest 
boy.  His  brother  Charles,  too,  had  been 
assigned  to  him  as  a  colleague  by  a  gener- 
ous   Government.       One    of    Livinsfstone's 


112  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

first  acts  was  to  read  to  the  members  of 
the  expedition  the  instructions  drawn  up  by 
himself  with  the  sanction  of  the  Foreign 
Office.  In  these  he  laid  stress  on  *'  an 
example  of  consistent  moral  conduct," 
"  treating  the  people  with  kindness,"  "  in- 
culcating peace  and  goodwill";  he  "earnestly 
pressed  "  upon  the  members  "  a  sacred 
regard  to  life,"  and  the  avoidance  of  wanton 
destruction  of  animals,  and  expressed  the 
hope  that  arms  would  never  be  needed  for 
defence  against  the  natives,  as  "  the  best 
security  from  attack  consists  in  upright 
conduct."  He  insists  on  "  the  strictest 
justice  in  dealing  with  the  natives,"  and  an 
attitude  of  respect  to  the  chiefs  of  tribes. 
"  We  are  adherents  of  a  benign,  holy 
religion,  and  may  by  consistent  conduct 
and  wise,  patient  efforts  become  the  har- 
bingers of  peace  to  a  hitherto  distracted 
^nd  down-trodden  race."  He  concluded  by 
again  reiterating  that  "  a  kind  word  or  deed 
is  never  lost." 

These   instructions  are  very  notable,  and 
perhaps    one    may  read    between    the    lines 


Ti  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  113 

some  anxiety,  and  even  apprehension,  for  he 
knew  that  the  success  of  the  expedition  no 
longer  entirely  rested  on  himself,  and  might 
be  marred  by  ill-advised  and  unchristian 
action  on  the  part  of  any  single  member.  It 
was  well  that  he  could  not  forecast  the  future. 
The  years  that  were  to  elapse  until  his  return 
to  England  in  1864  were  in  many  respects 
tragic  years.  They  were  years  of  accumu- 
lated disappointments,  bereavements,  failures 
and  rebuffs,  faced  with  courage  and  borne 
with  resignation,  but  none  the  less  leaving 
upon  his  life  the  shadow  of  great  and  crush- 
ing sorrow  which  never  wholly  lifted.  The 
course  of  the  "  Pearl "  was  down  the  West  Coast 
of  Africa  ;  and  the  first  bitter  disappoint- 
ment was  when  his  wife  and  son  had  to  be 
left  behind  at  Cape  Town  owing  to  ill-health. 
Fortunately,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Moffat  had 
journeyed  down  country  to  meet  them,  and 
took  their  daughter  and  her  boy  back  to 
Kuruman.  But  "  it  was  bitter  parting  with 
my  wife — like  tearing  the  heart  out  of  one." 
Livingstone  was  fated  to  do  his  work  in 
loneliness. 


114  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

The  "  Pearl "  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Zambesi  on  May  14th,  1858.  She  was 
anchored  in  the  **  mangrove  swamps,"  a 
deadly  place  for  fever,  and  Livingstone 
insisted  on  the  small  launch,  **  Ma  Robert," 
being  fitted  together  immediately,  for  he 
feared  the  consequences  to  the  newcomers  if 
they  did  not  speedily  get  away  to  a  healthier 
locality.  This  meant  working  on  Sunday, 
for  which  if  life  can  be  saved  there  is  sound 
Scripture  warrant ;  but  the  order  created  no 
small  criticism.  "It  is  a  pity,"  writes 
Livingstone,  "that  some  people  cannot  see 
that  the  true  and  honest  discharge  of  every- 
day life  is  divine  service."  The  next  trial 
was  in  the  resignation  of  the  naval  officer,  a 
matter  in  regard  to  which  Livingstone  was 
fully  exonerated  by  the  Foreign  Office,  but 
which  none  the  less  brought  home  to  him 
the  difficulties  of  his  new  position.  Instead 
of  waiting  for  a  new  officer,  Livingstone 
proceeded  to  run  the  ship  himself.  "It  was 
imagined  we  could  not  help  ourselves,"  he 
wrote  later,  "  but  I  took  the  task  of  navigat- 
ing   on    myself,    and    have   conducted    the 


DR.  LIVINGSTONE  115 

steamer  over  1,600  miles,  though  as  far  as 
my  likings  go  I  would  as  soon  drive  a  cab 
in  November  fogs  in  London  as  be  'skipper* 
in  this  hot  sun ;  but  I  shall  go  through  with 
it  as  a  duty." 

There  was  some  genuine  compensation 
when  he  reached  Tette,  and  was  hailed  with 
delirious  delight  by  his  old  Makololo  friends, 
who  had  never  ceased  to  believe  that  he 
would  keep  his  word  to  them.  '*  The  Tette 
people  often  taunted  us  by  saying,  'Your 
Englishman  will  never  return ' ;  but  we 
trusted  you,  and  now  we  shall  sleep." 
Disease  and  fighting  had  thinned  their  ranks. 
Thirty  had  died  of  smallpox  and  six  had 
been  killed.  Livingstone  had  some  work  to 
do  before  he  was  ready  to  march  back  with 
the  survivors  to  Linyanti,  but  they  knew  he 
would  not  fail  them.  Already  it  was  clear 
that  the  "  Ma  Robert "  was  almost  useless. 
Livingstone  had  applied  to  the  Government 
for  a  more  suitable  vessel ;  and  had  also 
ordered  one  on  his  own  account.  He  had 
intended  to  spend  ;f  2,000,  but  eventually  he 
devoted  nearly  the  whole  of  the  profits  of  his 


ii6  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

book,  some/ 6,000,  to  the  purchase  of  the  little 
steamer  "  Lake  Nyassa,"  which  he  specially 
destined  for  the  lake  whose  name  she  bore, 
but  whose  waters  she  never  sailed.  The 
Government  acceded  to  the  request,  but  the 
'*  Pioneer "  did  not  arrive  till  early  in  1861, 
and  the  "  Lake  Nyassa  "  a  year  later,  the 
latter  vessel  having  then  to  be  put  together, 
which  occupied  many  months. 

There  were  two  years,  therefore,  to  be  de- 
voted to  what  explorations  were  possible  with 
the  aid  of  the  "  Ma  Robert " — now  frivol- 
ously called  the  "Asthmatic" — and  their  own 
exertions.  It  was  clear  to  Livingstone  that 
the  Shir6  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Zambesi 
out  of  the  north  country,  was  a  very  im- 
portant feature,  and  ought  to  be  thoroughly 
examined.  It  was  quite  possible  that  it 
might  prove  to  be  a  highway  to  the  inland 
lakes  of  which  rumour  reached  him.  So  the 
first  months  of  1859  were  devoted  to  this 
journey.  The  party  made  their  way  up  till 
they  were  stopped  by  cataracts,  which  were 
named  the.  Murchison  Falls.  Little  could  be 
done  among  the  natives,  who  were  very  sus- 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  117 

picious  and  armed  with  poisoned  arrows.  It 
was  necessary  constantly  to  assure  them  that 
the  expedition  was  not  Portuguese,  but 
English,  for  the  terror  of  slave-raids  was  like 
a  perpetual  nightmare  over  the  people.  A 
second  attempt  on  the  Shir^  two  months 
later  had  more  notable  results.  They  were 
inspired  to  strike  away  from  the  river  to  the 
east,  and  discovered  Lake  Shirwa.  The 
lake  lay  1,800  feet  up,  and  was  sixty  miles 
long.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Portuguese 
had  no  idea  of  its  existence.  Livingstone 
describes  its  remarkable  beauty  and  the 
grandeur  of  its  setting  among  the  mountains, 
some  of  which  rise  to  the  height  of  8,000 
feet — "much  higher  than  any  you  see  in 
Scotland,"  he  writes  to  his  little  daughter 
Agnes.  He  is  increasingly  impressed  that 
the  whole  region  is  suitable  for  cotton  and 
sugar.  The  land  is  "so  rich  that  the  grass 
towers  far  over  one's  head  in  walking." 

The  party  went  back  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Zambesi  for  stores,  and  then  returned  to 
make  a  determined  effort  to  find  Lake 
Nyassa. 


ii8  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

Passing  beyond  the  cataracts,  they  were 
assured  by  a  chief  that  the  river  Shird 
"  stretched  on  for  two  months,  and  then 
came  out  between  perpendicular  rocks  which 
could  not  be  passed."  "  Let  us  go  back  to 
the  ship,"  said  the  Makololo  who  were  with 
them,  "it  is  no  use  trying  to  find  this  lake." 
"  We  shall  see  the  wonderful  rocks,  at  any 
rate,"  said  Livingstone.  "  Yes,"  they 
grumbled,  "  and  when  you  see  them  you  will 
just  want  to  see  something  else."  However, 
the  curiosity  of  the  Englishmen  was  by  this 
time  thoroughly  aroused,  and  they  pushed 
forward  till,  on  the  i6th  of  September,  they 
discovered  Lake  Nyassa.  They  had  not  time 
to  do  much  by  way  of  exploration,  and  two 
years  were  to  elapse  before  Livingstone 
returned  and  satisfied  himself  that  the  lake 
was  at  least  two  hundred  miles  long,  and  that 
it  had  endless  possibilities  in  view  of  future 
colonisation.  But  even  now  the  slavers  were 
active ;  and  gangs  of  unfortunate  captives 
were  being  marched  to  the  coast,  greatly  to 
the  indignation  of  the  Makololo,  who 
wondered   why    Livingstone    would   not   let 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  119 

them  "choke"  the  marauders;  but  he  was 
occupied  with  more  heroic  measures,  that 
would  lay  an  axe  to  the  roots  of  the  Upas- 
tree.  The  highlands  of  the  Shir^,  the  fertil- 
ity and  healthiness  of  the  country,  and  the 
proximity  to  the  great  waterway,  together 
with  the  lake  stretching  two  hundred  miles 
to  the  north,  filled  his  brain  with  schemes  for 
colonising  the  district.  It  is  the  best  white 
man's  country  he  has  seen,  and  he  bombards 
his  English  friends  with  letters  on  the  subject. 
Why  should  honest  poor  folk  at  home  make 
a  miserable  pittance  by  cultivating  small 
crofts  of  land  when  here  is  a  vast  undeveloped 
country  waiting  for  their  occupation,  with  the 
well-being  and  safety  of  a  large  population  to 
be  secured  by  their  presence  ?  He  is  per- 
sonally prepared  to  embark  two  or  three 
thousand  pounds  in  such  an  enterprise.  "It 
ought  not  to  be  looked  on  as  the  last  shift  a 
family  can  come  to,  but  the  performarfce  of 
an  imperative  duty  to  our  blood,  our  country, 
our  religion,  and  to  human  kind." 

While  waiting  the  response  of  England  to 
these  appeals,  he  is  off  with  his  Makololo  for 


I20  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

six  months,  to  see  them  back  to  ttieir  land 
and  to  their  folks.  Some  have  perished,  as 
we  have  seen  ;  some  had  no  wish  to  return. 
About  thirty  of  them  deserted  before  they 
had  gone  far,  leaving  about  sixty  to  go  for- 
ward. Livingstone's  white  companions  were 
his  brother  and  Dr.  Kirk,  afterwards  Sir 
John  Kirk,  who  had  proved  himself  an 
invaluable  friend  and  comrade. 

As  for  the  great  traveller  himself,  it  was 
with  real  joy  that  he  found  himself  on  the 
old  trail,  marching  and  camping  in  the 
fashion  so  reminiscent  of  earlier  days.  There 
are  the  same  tasks  and  toils,  the  same  fight 
with  hunger  and  fatigue  and  fever ;  but  it 
cheers  his  heart :  "  He  rejoiceth  as  a  strong 
man  to  run  his  course."  At  times,  however, 
he  is  compelled  to  realise  how  hard  it  is  to 
do  good  and  not  do  evil  with  it.  He  has 
opened  up  a  path;  and  the  first  to  follow 
him  is  the  Portuguese  or  Arab  slave-dealer. 
He  feels  that  he  has  been  made  the  instru- 
ment of  the  undoing  of  some  innocent  people, 
and  his  heart  is  heavy.  Only  Christian 
settlements  can  defeat  these  sinister  enter- 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  121 

prises.  In  August  they  were  at  the  Victoria 
Falls,  and  most  unexpectedly  find  a  white 
man  there,  Mr.  Baldwin  by  name,  who  has 
news  of  a  great  tragedy  that  fills  Living- 
stone's soul  with  sorrow.  One  of  the  results 
of  his  missionary  appeals  in  England  had 
been  that  the  London  Missionary  Society 
had  resolved  on  a  mission  at  Linyanti.  Nine 
Europeans  set  out  for  this  spot,  and  Mr. 
Baldwin  had  helped  them  on  the  way.  But 
the  head  of  the  mission,  Mr.  Helmore,  and 
his  wife  had  perished  of  fever,  and  three 
others  succumbed  later,  so  that  the  survivors 
gave  up  in  alarm  and  retired.  Livingstone 
was  too  late  to  be  of  service,  though  he  was 
certain  his  remedies  might  have  saved  their 
lives.  Even  this  is  not  all,  for  poor  Sekeletu 
is  stricken  with  leprosy,  and  is  living  away 
from  his  people,  believing  himself  to  be 
bewitched.  His  joy,  however,  at  Living- 
stone's return  is  unbounded,  and  the  general 
happiness  does  something  to  make  up  for  the 
sad  news  by  which  all  have  been  depressed. 
He  is  cheered  also  to  hear  that  his  old  friend 
Sechele  was  doing  well,  and  happy  in  the 


122  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

possession  of  a  Hanoverian  missionary,  and 
in  the  progress  of  Christian  teaching.  It 
was  with  evident  satisfaction  that  Living- 
stone, British  Consul,  resumed  his  old  labours 
of  preaching  and  teaching.  It  could  not  be 
for  long,  for  he  had  to  be  back  on  the 
Zambesi,  but  he  could  not  neglect  any 
opportunity  of  doing  definitely  spiritual 
work.  They  reached  Tette  once  more  on 
November  23rd,  and  travelled  down  the  river 
in  the  "  Ma  Robert,"  the  last  voyage  of  that 
ill-fated  "  bargain."  A  month  later  she 
grounded  on  a  sandbank  and  filled,  and  with- 
out remorse  they  left  her  at  the  bottom  of 
the  Zambesi. 

To  Livingstone  it  seemed  that  1861  was 
to  mark  the  opening  of  a  new  era,  for  the 
long-expected  steamer  "  Pioneer  "  arrived  at 
the  end  of  January,  and  with  it  Bishop 
Mackenzie  and  his  stafif,  whose  object  was  to 
plant  the  "  Universities'  Mission,"  another 
fruit  of  Livingstone's  memorable  home  visit. 
Livingstone  liked  the  Bishop  from  the  first 
for  his  manly  character,  his  devotion,  and  his 
common-sense.     Differences  of  denomination 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  123 

affected  him  not  at  all.  He  *'  looks  upon 
all  godly  men  as  good  and  true  brethren." 
He  thought  the  Bishop  like  Dr.  Moffat  "in 
his  readiness  to  put  his  hand  to  anything." 
Some  time  was  lost  in  exploration  of  the 
river  Rovuma,  which  came  to  nothing.  Then 
the  navigation  of  the  Shir^  with  the 
"  Pioneer "  proved  very  slow  and  laborious 
because  of  low  water  and  sandbanks.  Worse 
than  all,  the  whole  country  seemed  to  have 
been  ravaged  by  the  slavers  ;  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  Portuguese  Government 
officials  were  in  active  connivance.  At  the 
village  of  Mbame  on  the  Shir6  Livingstone 
and  the  Bishop  liberated  a  gang  of  eighty- 
four  men  and  women,  and  attached  them  to 
the  Mission  Settlement.  A  peculiarly 
murderous  native  chief,  the  head  of  a  fierce 
tribe  called  the  Ajawa,  was  doing  the  deadly 
work  for  the  Portuguese,  and  when  a  visit 
was  paid  to  him  to  persuade  him  to  desist, 
he  fired  on  the  mission  party,  and  the  fire 
was  returned.  It  was  an  ominous  beginning 
of  an  enterprise  that  had  tragical  develop- 
ments.    It  was   difficult   for  the   Bishop  to 


124  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

remain  a  spectator  of  all  these  murderous 
onslaughts,  but  Livingstone  strongly  advised 
him  not  to  interfere  in  tribal  quarrels  if  he 
could  avoid  it.  A  little  later  the  Bishop 
returned  to  the  ship,  and  assured  Livingstone 
that  the  Ajawa  were  more  peaceably  disposed. 
The  latter  heard  the  report  with  suspicions 
that  proved  well-founded.  The  Bishop  went 
back  to  his  station,  and  Livingstone's 
thoughts  were  turned  to  the  prospective 
arrival  of  the  man-of-war  that  was  to  bring 
his  own  new  vessel,  the  "  Lake  Nyassa,"  as 
well  as  his  wife,  the  Bishop's  sister,  and 
some  more  members  of  the  mission.  The 
ship  was  spoken  at  the  end  of  January,  and 
among  other  passengers  was  the  Rev.  James 
Stewart,  afterwards  so  well  known  as  Dr. 
Stewart  of  Lovedale.  He  had  come  to 
represent  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land, and  survey  for  a  mission  station. 
The  Bishop  had  not  appeared  to  meet  his 
sister,  and  boats  were  despatched  up  river  to 
find  him.  Miss  Mackenzie  and  Mrs. 
Burrup,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  Bishop's 
colleagues,  went  with  the  boats.     What  they 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  125 

actually  found  was  the  well-authenticated 
story  that  the  Bishop  and  Mr.  Burrup  were 
dead  of  fever,  after  an  expedition  to  rescue  the 
captive  husbands  of  some  Manganja  women. 
The  blow  to  Livingstone  was  a  crushing  one, 
for  though  he  had  never  been  able  wholly 
to  approve  the  policy  of  the  mission,  he  was 
too  chivalrous  to  criticise  in  such  an  hour, 
and  declared  that  had  he  been  with  the 
Bishop  he  might  have  done  the  same. 
"  This  will  hurt  us  all,"  he  said  prophetically, 
as  the  two  sorrow-stricken  women  came  back 
to  Shupanga  with  the  terrible  tidings.  He 
knew  well  that  the  Portuguese  would  mis- 
represent the  object  of  missionary  settle- 
ments to  be  to  interfere  among  the  tribes, 
and  even  to  make  use  of  military  force,  so 
adding  to  the  mischief  instead  of  abating  it. 
"  We  must  bow  to  the  will  of  Him  who  doeth 
all  things  well,"  he  writes;  "but  I  cannot 
help  feeling  sadly  disturbed  in  view  of  the 
effect  the  news  may  have  at  home.  I  shall 
not  swerve  a  hair's-breadth  from  my  work 
while  life  is  spared." 

Some  weeks  were  spent  in  arranging  for 


126  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

the  return  of  the  bereaved  women,  who  did 
not  sail  for  home  till  April  2nd.  Meanwhile 
an  even  darker  cloud  of  sorrow  was  prepar- 
ing to  break  over  Livingstone.  His  wife  had 
only  returned  to  him  to  die.  She  had  been 
to  Kuruman,  where  their  youngest  child  was 
born.  Then  she  had  returned  to  Scotland  to 
see  the  other  children.  But  her  longing  to 
be  at  her  husband's  side  was  intense,  and  at 
last  she  had  come  back  to  him.  On  April 
2 1st  she  was  taken  ill  with  fever,  and  on  the 
evening  of  Sunday,  27th,  in  the  presence  of 
Dr.  Stewart  and  her  husband  she  sank  to 
rest.  Dr.  Stewart  tells  us  how  he  found 
Livingstone  "sitting  by  the  side  of  a  rude 
bed  formed  of  boxes,  but  covered  with  a  soft 
mattress,  on  which  lay  his  dying  wife."  For 
the  first  time  in  his  life  Livingstone  says  he 
would  be  content  to  die.  He  laid  her  to 
rest  under  a  baobab  tree  on  "  Shupanga 
brae."  His  diary  reveals  the  agony  of  his 
heart.  Henceforth  "  the  red  hills  and  white 
vales "  of  Shupanga  are  with  him  in  all  his 
wanderings.  "In  some  other  spot  I  may 
have  looked  at,  my  own  resting-place  may  be 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  127 

allotted.  I  have  often  wished  that  it  might 
be  in  some  far-off  still  deep  forest,  where  I 
may  sleep  sweetly  till  the  resurrection  morn." 
"  I  loved  her  when  I  married  her,  and  the 
longer  I  lived  with  her  the  more  I  loved  her. 
.  .  .  Oh  !  my  Mary,  my  Mary,  how  often  we 
have  longed  for  a  quiet  home,  since  you  and 
I  were  cast  adrift  at  Kolobeng ;  surely  the 
removal  by  a  kind  Father  who  knoweth  our 
frame  means  that  He  rewarded  you  by  taking 
you  to  the  best  home,  the  eternal  one  in  the 
Heavens." 

For  such  comfort  as  could  be  obtained  in 
such  dark  days  he  turned  again  to  his  work. 
The  fight  against  slavery  is  becoming  more 
and  more  desperate.  Even  the  navigation 
of  the  river  is  now  a  horror.  The  waters 
are  ghastly  with  corpses.  *•  The  paddles  had 
to  be  cleared  of  bodies  caught  in  the  floats  at 
night."  Human  skeletons  were  found  in  all 
directions.  **  Many  had  ended  their  misery 
under  shady  trees,  others  under  projecting 
crags  in  the  hills,  while  others  lay  in  their 
huts  with  closed  doors  which,  when  opened, 
disclosed   the   mouldering    corpse   with   the 


128  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

poor  cloth  round  the  loins,  the  skull  fallen  off 
the  pillow,  the  little  skeleton  of  the  child  that 
had  perished  first  rolled  up  in  a  mat  between 
two  large  skeletons."  Eighteen  months 
before,  this  was  a  well-peopled  valley,  now  it 
is  a  desert  "literally  strewn  with  human 
bones."  To  complete  his  despair  the  mission 
of  Bishop  Mackenzie  is  removed,  by  order, 
to  Zanzibar,  despite  Livingstone's  urgent 
entreaty  ;  and  finally,  in  July,  1863,  he  himself 
received  from  Lord  Russell  the  news  that  he 
was  recalled.  He  does  not  blame  the  Gov- 
ernment. He  has  expected  this.  But  the 
bitterness  is  that  "  900  miles  of  coast  are 
abandoned  to  those  who  were  the  first  to 
begin  the  slave-trade,  and  seem  determined 
to  be  the  last  to  abandon  it." 

His  instructions  as  to  handing  back  the 
"  Pioneer  "  to  the  Government  men  were  quite 
explicit,  and  it  was  clear  that  he  had  little 
time  left  in  Africa.  Yet  before  he  returned 
to  England  he  accomplished  two  feats  that 
would  have  made  the  reputation  of  any  other 
man.  With  only  one  white  colleague  and 
five  Makololo  he  marched  seven  hundred  and 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  129 

sixty  miles  in  fifty- five  days,  getting  to  within 
ten  days'  march  of  Lake  Bangweolo  or 
Bemba,  and  the  village  of  Ilala,  where  years 
later  his  own  heart  was  to  be  buried.  He 
would  have  reached  the  lake  but  for  the  duty 
of  fulfilling  his  instructions  from  the  Govern- 
ment. The  second  great  feat  was  on  the 
ocean.  He  had  to  face  the  problem  of  his 
own  admirable  little  steamer,  the  '*  Lake 
Nyassa."  She  had  cost  him  a  fortune  and  he 
needed  the  money.  He  could  have  sold  her 
as  a  slave-vessel,  but  sooner  than  do  that  he 
would  sink  her  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  After 
many  adventures  he  gets  her  to  Zanzibar,  but 
cannot  get  a  fair  price.  The  one  chance  left 
is  to  sail  her  across  the  Indian  Ocean  and 
sell  her  in  Bombay.  It  was  the  wildest 
adventure,  but  it  was  worthy  of  him.  He 
could  take  but  fourteen  tons  of  coal,  and  the 
distance  was  2,500  miles.  The  crew  con- 
sisted of  himself,  a  stoker,  a  carpenter,  and  a 
sailor,  seven  native  Zanzibarians,  and  two 
*•  boys,"  one  of  whom  was  Chumah,  who  was 
with  him  on  his  last  march.  The  voyage 
took  forty-five  days,  much  of  it  marked  by 


130  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

dead  calm,  but  the  latter  part  by  furious 
squalls.  The  sails  were  torn,  and  the  little 
boat  nearly  rolled  right  over.  But  "  God's 
good  providence"  is  "over  us,"  and  on 
June  13th,  1864,  they  creep  into  the  harbour 
through  the  fog,  their  entrance  being  un- 
observed. 

He  stays  in  Bombay  a  short  time,  interest- 
ing the  merchants  in  East  African  trade. 
Then  he  takes  ship  for  England,  where  he 
arrived  on  July  21st. 

The  Livingstone  who  thus  returned  for 
his  last  visit  home  was  in  some  respects 
a  very  altered  man  from  the  one  who  took 
England  by  storm  at  the  close  of  his  first 
great  explorations.  He  had  suffered  severe 
personal  losses.  His  wife's  death  had  left 
him  lonely  and  sad,  with  the  deep  and 
lasting  sadness  of  a  strong  nature.  His 
grief  and  disappointment  over  the  tragedy 
of  the  Universities'  Mission  had  left  their 
mark  upon  him.  But  two  experiences  had 
changed  his  outlook  even  more  radically. 
In  the  first  place  he  had  seen  the  limitations 
inseparable  from  the  life  of  a  Government 


▼I  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  131 

official.  His  position  as  a  Consul  had  not 
helped  him,  while  at  the  same  time  it  had 
made  his  attitude  towards  the  Portuguese 
more  difficult.  He  could  not  be  his  own 
free  and  independent  self  when  the  relations 
of  two  European  Powers  were  at  stake. 
His  recall  was  something  of  a  relief.  He 
was  now  unmuzzled  :  and  gentle  and  kindly 
as  his  spirit  was,  Livingstone  was  capable 
of  what  we  may  dare  to  speak  of  as  "the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb."  It  becomes  more 
and  more  evident  during  this  visit  that 
his  heart  had  turned  back  in  full  affection 
to  his  original  vocation  and  work  as  a 
missionary  ;  and  when  the  next  negotia- 
tions were  opened  up  with  him,  he  bluntly 
avows  his  determination  to  return  only  on 
the  condition  that  he  may  pursue  his  travels 
in  that  capacity.  The  second  experience 
was,  of  course,  his  full  contact  with  all  the 
indescribable  villainies  of  the  slave  trade. 
He  had  seen  enough  of  the  miseries  it 
involved  during  his  journey  to  Loanda  ; 
but  the  West  Coast  was  vigilantly  watched 
by    English   cruisers,   and   the   slave   trade 

K    2 


132  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

reduced  to  comparatively  small  proportions. 
On  the  East  Coast,  Portugal  was  in 
authority  ;  and  her  connivance  and  sym- 
pathy were  responsible  for  the  vast  extent 
of  the  operations  of  the  raiders.  Living- 
stone came  back  to  England  in  the  grip 
of  a  great  and  noble  passion — a  fiery  in- 
dignation against  the  barbarities  of  this 
traffic  in  flesh  and  blood  ;  and  he  sternly 
resolved  to  fight  it  single-handed  if  need 
be.  He  had  no  heart  to  pursue  purely 
scientific  observations  or  geographical  ex- 
plorations to  gratify  the  intellectuals,  while 
Africa  was  being  desolated  and  her  popula- 
tion laid  waste.  The  great  public  might 
complain  that  he  no  longer  tickled  their  ears 
with  thrilling  or  amusing  descriptions  of 
adventures  :  he  was,  as  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes 
truly  said,  "a  great  Puritan  traveller,"  and 
the  moral  ends  of  his  labours  remained 
with  him  ever  supreme.  With  such  a  fire 
consuming  him,  it  may  easily  be  realised 
that  he  found  the  Foreign  Office  "cold." 
The  year  was  1864.  America  was  washing 
out   the  guilt  of  centuries   in   the  blood  of 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  133 

her  bravest  and  best.  Livingstone's  own 
boy,  Robert,  who  had  been  somewhat 
erratic,  had  heard  his  call,  and  was  fight- 
ing in  the  Federal  ranks  on  his  way  to 
a  grave  in  Gettysburg  Cemeter}^  Never 
in  the  history  of  the  world  had  slavery 
revealed  itself  so  convincingly  as  a  hideous 
cancer  in  the  social  system.  But  official 
England  was  "cold."  She  had  begun  by 
believing  that  Jeff  Davis  was  making  a 
nation  ;  she  had  reached  the  stage  of  chill 
condescension  towards  Abraham-  Lincoln, 
for  whom  Livingstone  had  a  true  man's 
admiration  and  affection.  The  Foreign 
Office  was  in  no  mind  to  take  an  heroic 
line,  and  was,  no  doubt,  heartily  relieved 
that  Livingstone  had  not  made  a  greater 
fuss  about  his  recall. 

It  was  not  to  make  a  fuss  about  his  per- 
sonal affairs,  however,  that  Livingstone  had 
come  home.  The  "  fuss  "  was  to  be  about 
his  friends,  the  natives,  who  were  being  done 
to  death  in  thousands,  and  the  residue  sold 
into  degradation  and  for '  td  labour.  He 
opened  the  battle  in  a  lecture  to  the  British 


134  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

Association  at  Bath ;  and  so  effective  an 
opening  was  it,  that  the  Portuguese  had  to 
put  up  Senhor  Lacerda,  the  traveller,  to 
declare  that  it  was  "manifest  that  Dr. 
Livingstone,  under  the  pretext  of  propa- 
gating the  Word  of  God,  and  the  advance- 
ment of  geographical  and  natural  science," 
was  bent  on  robbing  Portugal  of  the 
*' advantages  of  the  rich  commerce  of  the 
interior."  *•  Rich  commerce "  is  good ! 
The  learned  Senhor  goes  on  to  urge  that 
Livingstone's  "audacious  and  mischievous 
actions"  ought  to  be  "restrained."  This 
was  a  pretty  plain  hint  to  the  Portuguese 
authorities,  and  not  lost  on  them,  as  we  shall 
see.  The  next  move  in  the  war  lay  with 
Livingstone.  This  was  the  book  in  which 
he  proposed  to  lay  the  whole  scandal  bare. 
He  wrote  this  book  at  Newstead  Abbey,  the 
home  of  his  hospitable  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Webb,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  noted 
African  hunter.  The  day  he  finished  his 
book  was  the  day  when  Lincoln  was  assassin- 
ated in  Washington. 

The    book   finished,   he   was   to  settle   a 


71  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  135 

question  which  Sir  Roderick  Murchison  had 
raised  with  him,  of  a  return  to  Africa  for 
purely  geographical  purposes.  Livingstone 
is  all  eagerness  to  return,  and  the  line  of 
exploration  suggested  on  the  inland  lakes 
appeals  to  him  strongly,  but  he  answers  that 
he  can  only  feel  in  the  way  of  duty  by 
working  as  a  missionary.  He  writes  to  Mr. 
James  Young,  "  I  would  not  consent  to  go 
simply  as  a  geographer,  but  as  a  missionary, 
and  do  geography  by  the  way,  because  I  feel 
I  am  in  the  way  of  duty  when  trying  either 
to  enlighten  these  poor  people,  or  open  their 
land  to  lawful  commerce."  Later  on  came 
an  informal  request  from  Lord  Palmerston  to 
know  what  he  could  do  for  him.  It  may  be 
doubted  whether  that  decidedly  worldly 
statesman  ever  anticipated  so  disinterested  a 
reply  as  he  received.  Instead  of  bargaining 
for  salary  or  pension,  Livingstone  replied 
that  he  wanted  but  one  thing  ;  "  free  access 
to  the  highlands  by  the  Zambesi  and  Shire 
to  be  secured  by  a  treaty  with  Portugal." 
Governments  find  those  men  easiest  to  deal 
with  who  are  satisfied  with  a  lump  sum  down. 


136  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

In  the  interval  of  fixing  up  his  arrange- 
ments with  the  Government  and  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  Livingstone  had  a 
personal  sorrow  in  the  death  of  his  mother  at 
the  age  of  eighty-two.  He  was  glad,  how- 
ever, to  be  at  home  to  fulfil  her  wish  that 
"  one  of  her  laddies  should  lay  her  head  in 
the  grave."  After  that,  he  visited  the  school 
which  his  children  attended,  and  made  a 
short  speech.  The  last  words  he  uttered  in 
public  in  Scotland  were  the  simple  ones, 
'•  Fear  God  and  work  hard." 

The  negotiations  in  regard  to  his  new 
work  were  finally  completed.  The  Govern- 
ment gave  ;^5oo,  and  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  an  equal  sum.  A  private 
friend  added  a  thousand  pounds.  This  was 
all,  except  that  he  was  to  be  the  unsalaried 
Consul  with  power  over  the  chiefs  on  the 
coast  between  Portuguese  territory  and 
Abyssinia.  He  was  also  warned  to  expect 
no  pension.  It  is  useless  now  to  indulge  in 
belated  indignation  over  these  very  unhand- 
some terms.  Probably  if  they  were  put  into 
plain  black  and  white  they  meant  that  the 


VI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  137 

great  British  Government  presented  David 
Livingstone  with  ^5CX)  and  a  sphere  of 
influence  to  keep  him  from  making  mischief 
with  the  Portuguese  by  expressing  honest 
British  hatred  of  the  slave  trade ;  while  the 
Geographical  Society  hoped  to  tie  him  up  to 
geographical  work,  and  so  prevent  him  wast- 
ing his  time  and  talents  on  fatuous  missionary 
enterprises.  What  actually  happened  we 
shall  see  in  due  course.  Meanwhile  Living- 
stone's own  personal  plan  was  to  sell  his 
steamer  at  Bombay  in  order  to  make  up  the 
deficiency  in  the  cost  of  his  new  expedition 
due  to  the  financial  economy  of  a  lukewarm 
Government.  It  was  for  Bombay  accord- 
ingly that  he  departed  in  August,  1865.  He 
never  saw  these  shores  again. 


CHAPTER  VII 

When  Livingstone  arrived  in  Bombay  in 
September,  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  Governor. 
They  were  old  friends,  and  the  Governor 
became  his  very  sympathetic  host.  His 
immediate  purpose  was  to  dispose  of  the 
*'  Lake  Nyassa "  for  what  she  would  fetch. 
This  proved  to  be  ;^2,6oo,  for  a  steamer 
that  had  cost  him  ;[f  6,000.  It  was  a  poor 
bargain,  but  he  was  not  in  a  position  to  refuse 
it,  and  as  things  turned  out  he  got  no  good 
out  of  it.  He  deposited  the  money  in  an 
Indian  bank  which  in  a  few  weeks  failed 
miserably,  and  Livingstone's  money  was 
seen  no  more.  As  he  cared  for  money  less 
than  any  man,  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  be 
unduly  depressed  by  this  misfortune.  **  The 
whole   of  the   money  she   cost,"   he   wrote, 

"  was  dedicated  to  the  great  cause  for  which 

X38 


cii.vii         DR.  LIVINGSTONE  139 

she  was  built :  we  are  not  responsible  for 
results."  His  preparations  in  Bombay  for  the 
forthcoming  expedition  were,  for  him,  quite 
elaborate  ;  and  we  may  add  at  once  gave 
little  satisfaction  in  the  sequel.  There  is  a 
training  school  under  Government  for 
Africans  at  Nassick.  Nine  of  the  men 
volunteered  to  go  with  him.  Besides  these, 
he  was  supplied  with  sepoys  from  the 
"  Marine  Battalion."  He  was  assured  that 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  rough  it  in 
various  ways.  In  practice  they  would  only 
march  five  miles  a  day,  were  "notorious 
skulkers,"  and  disgusted  Livingstone  by  their 
cruelty  to  the  brute  beasts.  It  was  not  long 
before  he  dismissed  them  to  their  homes. 
The  Nassick  "  boys "  were  not  much  more 
manageable.  The  expedition  included  ten 
Johanna  men  who  were  only  a  moderate 
success,  two  Shupanga  men — including  Susi 
— and  two  Wayaus — including  Chumah.  Susi 
and  Chumah,  it  will  be  remembered,  were 
with  him  at  the  last.  Chumah  was  a  liberated 
slave  who  owed  his  freedom  to  Livingstone 
and  Bishop  Mackenzie  in   1861.     The  expe- 


I40  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

dition  was  further  distinguished  by  a  number 
of  animals  imported  by  Livingstone  from 
India :  six  camels,  three  buffaloes  and  a 
calf,  two  mules  and  four  donkeys.  He 
was  anxious  to  prove  that  camels  were 
immune  from  the  bites  of  the  tsetse  flies,  and 
he  expected  to  acclimatise  the  other  beasts, 
and  teach  some  native  chief  to  breed  them. 
The  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  was  cordial,  and 
armed  Livingstone  with  a  letter  to  be  used 
as  a  passport.  Then  he  took  his  leave,  and 
on  the  22nd  of  March  he  is  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Rovuma  with  all  his  caravan  complete. 
The  navigation  of  the  shallow  river  proved 
unexpectedly  difficult,  and  occasioned  tedious 
delay  and  some  anxiety ;  so  at  last  he  sails 
north  again  and  gets  all  his  animals  landed 
in  Mikindany  Bay.  He  is  too  old  a  traveller 
not  to  realise  that  his  troubles  are  all  in  front 
of  him ;  but  he  does  not  anticipate  them  ; 
and  writes  in  high  spirits  of  the  joy  of  setting 
out  once  more  into  wild  and  unexplored 
country. 

As  David  Livingstone  is  now  starting  on 
his  last  and  greatest  march,  which  was  to  be 


VII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  141 

lengthened  out  year  after  year,  and  to  be 
signalised  by  unparalleled  sufferings  and 
heroic  endurance,  it  will  be  well  to  acquaint 
ourselves  with  such  plans  as  he  had  some- 
what vaguely  laid  down.  He  realised  that 
there  are  three  great  main  waterways  into 
the  African  interior :  the  Congo,  the  Zambesi, 
and  the  Nile.  He  was  satisfied  that  no 
future  exploration  could  do  other  than 
confirm  his  conclusions  as  to  the  watershed 
which  he  had  traversed,  from  which  certain 
rivers  flowed  north  to  the  Congo,  and  certain 
others  south  to  the  Zambesi.  But  from 
earliest  times  the  scientific  imagination  had 
been  captured  by  the  problem  of  the  sources 
of  the  Nile.  This  was  the  greatest  of  all 
unsolved  geographical  problems ;  and  to  it 
Livingstone  was  attracted  irresistibly,  not 
only  by  his  own  native  curiosity,  but  by  that 
interest  in  classical  questions  which  was  a 
very  marked  characteristic  of  his  mind.  To 
this  problem  he  knew  that  the  system  of 
inland  lakes  was  the  clue,  and  that  whoever 
could  completely  explore  them  would  settle 
the  question  for  all  time  and  "  make  himself 


142  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

an  everlasting  name."  That  he  would  have 
numberless  opportunities  of  proclaiming 
Christ  to  the  scattered  peoples  of  the 
interior,  and  would  cut  across  the  slave 
routes  and  perhaps  be  able  to  scheme  out 
how  to  defeat  the  devilish  purposes  of  the 
slavers,  were  motives  with  him  even  more 
powerful.  So  he  got  his  caravan  under  way, 
marched  south  to  Rovuma,  and  then  south- 
west across  the  four  hundred  miles  of  country 
that  lay  between  the  coast  and  Lake 
Nyassa. 

The  first  stages  were  made  miserable  to 
Livingstone  by  the  brutality  of  the  sepoys  to 
the  dumb  beasts.  They  were  overloaded 
and  overstrained  and  cruelly  maltreated. 
Some  of  them  die  of  sores,  which  the  sepoys 
insist  are  caused  by  tsetse  or  by  accidents. 
Meanwhile  progress  is  depressingly  slow ; 
the  district  through  which  the  expedition 
passes  is  famine-stricken,  and  food  is  most 
difficult  to  obtain.  The  sepoys  go  from  bad 
to  worse,  and  in  two  months  are  openly 
mutinous.  They  kill  one  camel,  beating  it 
over  the  head  ;  and  set  themselves  to  corrupt 


VII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  143 

the  Nassick  boys  so  as  to  tire  Livingstone 
out.  For  weeks  together  it  is  nothing  but 
one  endless  struggle  on  the  part  of  the  leader 
against  this  conspiracy  to  defeat  his  plans. 
Sometimes  he  tries  the  offer  of  increased 
wages ;  sometimes  the  threat  of  corporal 
punishment,  but  the  indolence,  cruelty,  and 
illwill  of  the  sepoys  threaten  the  success  of 
the  expedition,  and  the  spirit  of  disaffection 
spreads  to  the  Nassick  boys. 

It  is  the  19th  of  June:  "We  passed  a 
woman  tied  by  the  neck  to  a  tree  and  dead. 
The  people  of  the  country  explained  that  she 
had  been  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  other 
slaves  in  a  gang  ...  I  may  mention  here 
that  we  saw  others  tied  up  in  a  similar 
manner,  and  one  lying  in  the  path,  shot  or 
stabbed,  for  she  was  in  a  pool  of  blood." 
They  were  on  the  red  trail  now,  and  Living- 
stone's feet  never  left  it  till  death  brought 
him  release. 

On  the  27th  of  June  they  found  "a 
number  of  slaves  with  slave-sticks  on» 
abandoned  by  their  masters  from  want  of 
food ;    they  were   too  weak  to  be  able  to 


144  r>R.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

speak  or  to  say  where  they  had  come  from  ; 
some  were  quite  young." 

The  middle  of  July  found  them  in  Mataka's 
country,  with  whom  Livingstone  made  fast 
friends.  The  town  lay  in  an  elevated  valley 
surrounded  by  mountains ;  and  food  was 
plentiful,  so  that  they  were  able  to  make  up 
for  many  privations.  It  was  here  that 
Livingstone  resolved  to  send  the  sepoys 
back.  They  had  become  quite  intolerable — 
shirking  work,  stealing,  and  infecting  all  the 
company  with  their  ill-nature.  One  of  the 
incidents  that  most  pleased  Livingstone 
during  his  stay  with  Mataka  was  the  release 
by  the  chief  of  a  large  company  of  slaves. 
The  expedition  left  for  Lake  Nyassa  on 
July  28th.  It  was  mountainous  travelling 
now,  but  the  country  between  them  and  the 
lake  was  under  Mataka,  and  his  guides  were 
sworn  to  take  them  safely.  Progress  was 
still  slow,  though  decidedly  more  pleasant  in 
the  absence  of  the  sepoys.  Sometimes  they 
came  on  Arab  encampments,  where  the 
slaves  were  herded  in  great  pens — from  300  to 
8cx)  form  a  gang,  according  to  Livingstone's 


vii  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  145 

estimate.  As  they  drew  near  the  lake,  food 
was  plentiful  and  game  abundant.  On  August 
8th,  "  we  came  to  the  lake  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Misinj^,  and  felt  grateful  to  that 
Hand  which  had  protected  us  thus  far  on  our 
journey.  It  was  as  if  I  had  come  back  to 
an  old  home  I  never  expected  again  to  see  ; 
and  pleasant  to  bathe  in  the  delicious  waters 
again,  hear  the  roar  of  the  sea,  and  dash  in 
the  rollers  ...  I  feel  quite  exhilarated." 
It  had  taken  four  months  to  reach  Lake 
Nyassa  from  the  coast. 

Livingstone's  plan  had  been  to  cross  the 
lake  by  means  of  Arab  dhows,  and  resume 
explorations  on  the  west  side.  But  the  Arabs 
fled  from  him  as  from  the  plague,  and  took 
every  care  that  no  dhows  were  at  his  dis- 
posal ;  so  he  was  driven  to  march  round  to 
the  foot  of  the  lake,  where  he  was  again  on 
familiar  ground,  and  utters  anew  his  lamenta- 
tions over  the  untimely  end  of  the  Universi- 
ties* Mission,  which  he  had  always  seen  in 
his  mind's  eye  standing  sentinel  over  this 
great  inland  sea,  and  holding  the  country  for 
Christ  and  freedom. 


146  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

The  end  of  September  finds  the  expedi- 
tion on  the  Shird ;  and  now  rumour  reaches 
them  of  wars  and  troubles  ahead,  which 
causes  the  Johanna  men  to  desert  in  a 
body,  and  Livingstone  does  not  indulge  in 
many  regrets.  They  were  **  inveterate 
thieves  ; "  but  he  is  left  with  a  party  in- 
conveniently small.  The  sequel  to  this 
treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Johanna  men 
was  that,  to  justify  themselves,  they  in- 
vented and  circulated  a  most  plausible  and 
circumstantial  story  of  Livingstone's  murder 
— a  story  which  imposed  upon  many  of  his 
friends  and  produced  a  crop  of  laudatory 
obituary  notices  in  the  papers.  The  story 
was  as  thoroughly  disbelieved  by  Living- 
stone's old  friend,  Mr.  E.  D.  Young,  who 
well  knew  how  the  leader  of  these  men 
could  lie.  Mr.  Young  came  out  to  Africa 
at  once,  bringing  with  him  a  steel  boat, 
the  "  Search,"  which,  by  the  aid  of  some 
Makololo  men,  was  successfully  trans- 
ported to  Lake  Nyassa  and  floated  there. 
Mr.  Young  effectually  disproved  the  Johanna 
legend,    and    in    eight    months    was    back 


VII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  147 

again  in  England,  having  discovered  that 
Livingstone  had  passed  safely  on  toward 
the  north-west. 

The  depleted  expedition  found  itself  now 
in  very  mountainous  regions,  and  enjoyed 
the  noble  prospects  afforded  from  many  of 
the  high  plateaux  which  they  reached. 
Their  faces  were  to  the  north,  towards  the 
Loangwa  River  and  the  distant  Lake 
Tanganyika.  No  opportunity  is  lost  by 
the  way  of  preaching  to  all  the  tribes 
"  our  relationship  to  our  Father  ;  His  love 
for  all  His  children  ;  the  guilt  of  selling 
any  of  His  children  —  the  consequence  : 
e.g.^  it  begets  war,  for  they  don't  like  to 
sell  their  own,  and  steal  from  other  villages, 
who  retaliate."  Going  west  from  the  lake 
they  followed  a  very  zigzag  course,  crossing 
many  rivers  which  flow  into  the  Lkitipe, 
which  is  one  of  the  main  supplies  of  Lake 
Nyassa.  They  kept  to  the  north  of  the 
fine  Zalanyama  range,  and  pushed  on  in 
a  north-westerly  direction.  All  the  while 
a  state  of  fear  existed  in  regard  to  the 
dreaded   Mazitu,    who  were  reported  to  be 


148  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

making  forays,  and  whom  Livingstone 
compared  to  the  Highland  Celts  in  the 
twelfth  century  in  the  Border  country.  By 
the  middle  of  December  they  had  reached 
the  Loangwa,  and  crossed  it  in  search  of 
food.  Christmas  Day  was  spent  wretchedly, 
the  goats  having  been  stolen,  and  Living- 
stone's favourite  milk-diet  being  at  an  end. 
A  ridge  of  mountain  country  has  to  be 
crossed,  after  which  they  are  compelled  to 
bear  to  the  east  in  search  of  food,  which 
has  become  very  scarce  again,  and  all  the 
party  are  suffering.  The  last  day  of  1866 
is  sacred  to  some  new  resolutions  :  **  Will  try 
to  do  better  in  1867,  and  be  better — more 
gentle  and  loving  ;  and  may  the  Almighty, 
to  Whom  I  commit  my  way,  bring  my 
desires  to  pass  and  prosper  me.  Let  all 
the  sin  of  '66  be  blotted  out  for  Jesus' 
sake." 

January  \sty  1867. — "May  He  who  was 
full  of  grace  and  truth  impress  His  character 
on  mine.  Grace — eagerness  to  show  favour ; 
truth — truthfulness,  sincerity,  honour — for 
His  mercy's  sake." 


VII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  149 

The  year  opens  with  "  a  set-in  rain."  He 
records  that  he  feels  always  hungry,  and  is 
constantly  dreaming  of  better  food  when  he 
should  be  sleeping.  On  the  loth  he  takes 
his  belt  up  three  holes  to  relieve  hunger.  On 
the  15th  he  suffers  the  loss  of  his  "poor 
little  dog,  Chitane,"  to  which  he  was  greatly 
attached.  Everywhere  it  is  famine,  and 
famine  prices  for  wretched  food.  They  boil 
grain  and  pretend  it  is  coffee.  The  ground 
is  all  sloppy — feet  constantly  wet.  The 
natives  are  living  on  mushrooms  and  leaves. 
Then  comes  the  crowning  disaster.  Two 
men  who  had  joined  the  expedition  deserted, 
and  absconded  with  the  medicine  chest.  It 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  and  there  was 
not  the  shadow  of  a  chance  of  recovering  it. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  the  lack  of  any 
proper  medicines  to  counteract  the  fever 
poison  was  a  main  contributory  cause  to 
Livingstone's  serious  loss  of  health.  "  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  now  received  sentence  of  death, 
like  poor  Bishop  Mackenzie,"  he  writes. 
Yet  even  in  the  hour  of  despair  he  searches 
for  some  support  for  optimism,  and  the  Pro- 


ISO  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

vidential  order  which  he  knows  to  exist. 
"This  may  turn  out  for  the  best  by  taking 
away  a  source  of  suspicion  among  more 
superstitious,  charm-dreading  people  further 
north."  On  January  23rd  he  remarks  that 
"an  incessant  hunger  teases  us  .  .  .  real, 
lasting  hunger  and  faintness."  Yet  next  day 
it  was  a  case  of  "  four  hours  through  un- 
broken, dark  forest."  But  they  have  reached 
the  Chambez6  now,  lean  and  starved  and 
desperate,  and  there  is  prospect  of  food  on 
the  other  side.  They  found  the  food  a  little 
later,  but  "in  changing  my  dress  this  morn- 
ing I  was  frightened  at  my  own  emaciation." 
The  expedition  made  a  lengthy  stay  with 
the  chief,  Chitapangwa,  who  on  the  whole 
treated  them  well,  and  sent  men  to  set  them 
on  their  way  to  Lake  Tanganyika.  The 
same  steady  tramp,  tramp  continues.  Always 
we  seem  to  hear  what  Dr.  Isaac  Taylor 
described  as  "  the  forward  tread  .  .  .  which 
means  getting  there  "  ;  but  it  is  terrible  work. 
He  has  had  rheumatic  fever  again ;  and  no 
medicine !  On  March  loth  he  writes :  "  I 
have  been  ill  of  fever  .  .  .  every  step  I  take 


vn  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  151 

jars  in  the  chest,  and  I  am  very  weak ;  I  can 
scarcely  keep  in  the  march  though  formerly 
I  was  always  first  ...  I  have  a  constant 
singing  in  the  ears,  and  can  scarcely  hear  the 
loud  tick  of  the  chronometers."  Still  he  will 
go  on  with  the  rest ;  and  at  last,  on  the  first 
day  of  April,  they  are  at  Tanganyika,  or,  as 
it  is  called  at  the  southern  end.  Lake  Liemba. 
It  has  been  good  marching  under  the  most 
trying  conditions.  The  veteran  traveller  has 
gone  from  the  south  of  Lake  Nyassa  to  the 
south  of  Lake  Tanganyika  in  six  months. 
Ill  as  he  is,  he  is  deeply  impressed  by  the 
loveliness  of  the  scenery.  Mountains  run- 
ning up  to  2,000  feet  surround  the  southern 
portion,  "and  there,  embosomed  in  tree- 
covered  rocks,  reposes  the  lake  peacefully  in 
the  huge  cup-shaped  cavity."  Again  he 
writes :  "It  lies  in  a  deep  basin  whose  sides 
are  nearly  perpendicular,  but  covered  well 
with  trees :  the  rocks  which  appear  are 
bright  red  argillaceous  schist :  the  trees  at 
present  all  green  :  down  some  of  these  rocks 
come  beautiful  cascades,  and  buffaloes,  ele- 
phants, and  antelopes  wander  and  graze  on 


152  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

the  more  level  spots."  It  is  an  enchanted 
country ;  but  the  getting  there  has,  in  the 
absence  of  medicines,  nearly  killed  him. 
**  I  feel  deeply  thankful  at  having  got  so  far. 
I  am  excessively  weak  and  cannot  walk 
without  tottering,  and  have  constant  singing 
in  the  head.  But  the  Highest  will  lead  me 
further''  After  a  few  days  spent  at  the 
lake,  Livingstone's  illness  assumes  a  most 
alarming  form.  He  has  "a  fit  of  insensi- 
bility," finds  himself  "floundering  outside  the 
hut  and  unable  to  get  in,"  and  finally  falls 
back  heavily  on  his  head.  The  boys  carried 
him  in,  but  hours  passed  before  he  could 
recognise  where  he  was. 

He  is  a  little  better  a  fortnight  later,  and 
anxious  to  move  on.  But  whither?  He 
had  intended  to  follow  the  lake  to  the 
north-west ;  but  the  road  seems  barred  by 
the  Mazitu,  who  are  out  for  plunder.  He 
has  heard  of  Lake  Moero,  which  lies  to  the 
west  some  two  hundred,  or  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  Is  it  not  possible  that  this  lake 
may  be  the  common  source  of  the  Congo  and 
the    Nile?     The    geographical    problem    is 


vix  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  153 

most  persistent,  and  he  cannot  be  satisfied  to 
leave  Lake  Moero  unexplored.  On  the  first 
day's  march  he  has  another  fit  of  insensi- 
bility, but  this  does  not  constitute  an 
argument  for  delay.  He  reached  the  village 
of  a  chief  Chitimba,  only  to  find  that  the 
country  between  him  and  Lake  Moero  is  the 
scene  of  a  small  war,  which  would  involve 
"a  long  detour  round  the  disturbed  district." 
He  decides  to  wait  events,  which  turns  out 
to  be  a  tedious  business ;  but  the  Arabs  are 
kind  to  him,  and  the  enforced  leisure  is 
probably  beneficial.  His  diary  is  full  of 
descriptions  of  the  cruelties  inflicted  by  [the 
slave-trade.  In  all,  he  was  detained  at 
Chitimba's  village  nearly  three  months  and  a 
half.  In  his  onward  march  he  visits  the 
famous  Nsama,  with  whom  the  war  has  been 
waged,  and  is  again  laid  up  with  illness  in 
that  neighbourhood.  After  this,  he  crosses 
the  Chisera  and  the  Choma,  and  then  ascends 
the  high  lands  between  the  rivers  and  the 
northern  part  of  the  lake.  It  is  exhilarating 
travelling  here,  for  Livingstone  is  always 
pleasantly   excited    by    beautiful    and    hilly 


154  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

scenery  which  brings  back  memories  of 
Scotland.  But,  alas !  **  the  long  line  of  slaves 
and  carriers "  is  a  frequent  incident  in  the 
march.  On  the  8th  of  November,  he  reaches 
Lake  Moero,  "  which  seems  of  goodly  size, 
and  is  flanked  by  ranges  of  mountains  on  the 
east  and  west."  There  he  sleeps  in  a  fisher- 
man's hut,  for  the  lake  abounds  in  fish,  the 
fishermen  enumerating  thirty-nine  varieties. 
The  end  of  November  finds  him  at  the  town 
of  Casembe,  where  he  meets  an  Arab  trader, 
Mohamad  Bogharib,  "  with  an  immense 
number  of  slaves,"  who  gives  him  a  meal — 
the  first  honey  and  sugar  he  had  tasted  for 
fourteen  months — and  is  useful  to  him  in 
many  ways.  The  chief  also  is  civil  to 
Livingstone ;  but  has  been  guilty  of  hateful 
barbarities,  as  the  mutilated  arms  and  ears  of 
many  of  his  people  bear  witness.  Living- 
stone looks  with  disgust  on  the  executioner 
who  carries  sword  and  scissors  for  his  horrible 
work.  The  people  generally  are  more 
savage  than  any  he  has  seen. 

The  results  of  extended   explorations  of 
Lake  Moero,  lasting  for  some  months,  are  set 


▼11  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  155 

forth  in  a  despatch  to  Lord  Clarendon,  dated 
the  loth  of  December,  1867.  From  this 
despatch  we  can  see  that  Livingstone  had 
been  misled  by  a  similarity  of  name  to 
imagine  that  Lake  Bemba,  of  which  he  had 
heard  years  before,  was  the  same  as  Lake 
Liemba.  He  now  knows  that  Lake  Liemba 
is  only  the  southern  portion  of  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika ;  and  that  Lake  Bemba  is  the  lake 
otherwise  called  Lake  Bangweolo ;  and  that 
on  his  northern  travels  from  Lake  Nyassa, 
when  he  crossed  the  River  Chambez6,  he  had 
been  less  than  a  hundred  miles  from  this 
latter  lake,  and  might  have  saved  himself 
many  a  hundred  miles  of  trudging  had  he 
explored  it  first  of  all.  He  had  discovered 
also,  that  a  great  river,  the  Luapula,  flows 
from  Lake  Bangweolo  into  the  south  of 
Lake  Moero,  and  that  at  the  north  the 
waters  flow  out  in  what  is  called  the  River 
Lualaba.  He  is  uncertain  in  his  own  mind 
what  this  great  river  Lualaba  is,  and  whither 
it  goes.  It  may  be  the  Nile  ;  it  seems  more 
probable  that  it  is  the  Congo.  It  may  flow 
into    the    northern    portion   of   Lake   Tan- 


156  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

ganyika,  or  it  may  flow  away  to  the  north- 
west Livingstone  is  assured  by  the  natives 
that  Lake  Bangweolo  is  only  ten  days 
distant  But  he  adds,  "  I  am  so  tired  of 
exploration  without  a  word  from  home  or 
anywhere  else  for  two  years,  that  I  must  go 
to  Ujiji  on  Tanganyika  for  letters  before 
doing  anything  else.  Besides,  there  is 
another  reason — I  have  no  medicine."  He 
is  satirical  on  the  subject  of  the  published 
maps,  one  of  which  tacks  on  200  miles  to 
Lake  Nyassa,  and  another  makes  a  river 
— •*  the  new  Zambesi " — flow  4,000  feet  up 
hill !  "I  have  walked  over  both  these 
mental  abortions  and  did  not  know  that  I 
was  walking  on  water  till  I  saw  them  in  the 
maps." 

The  year  1868  finds  him  still  interested  in 
Lake  Moero.  His  New  Year's  prayer  is : 
"  If  I  am  to  die  this  year,  prepare  me  for  it." 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  March  that  the 
idea  of  going  south  and  exploring  Lake 
Bangweolo  took  hold  on  him.  His  reason 
was  that  at  least  two  more  months  must  be 
passed  at  Lake  Moero  before  a  passage  could 


VII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  157 

be  made  to  Ujiji.  There  were  many  diffi- 
culties in  the  way,  notably  that  his  stores 
were  nearly  done  and  he  could  not  give 
presents  to  chiefs  on  the  way.  What  was 
more  serious  was  that  those  on  whose  help 
he  counted  were  in  open  revolt  against  his 
plan.  Mohamad  Bogharib,  who  intended  to 
accompany  him  to  Ujiji,  was  incensed  at 
Livingstone  for  making  a  proposal  so  mad  ; 
and  the  latter  expresses  the  fear  that  he  must 
give  up  Lake  Bangweolo  for  the  present. 
Next  day,  however,  he  is  bent  on  going,  but 
his  own  carriers  have  been  corrupted  by  the 
Arabs,  and  refuse  to  accompany  him.  Only 
five  of  his  men  remain  loyal ;  but  Living- 
stone's blood  is  up  now,  and  he  starts  out  at 
the  head  of  this  meagre  escort  to  find  Lake 
Bemba  or  Bangweolo.  **  I  did  not  blame 
them  very  severely  in  my  own  mind  for 
absconding,"  he  writes ;  "  they  were  tired 
of  tramping,  and  so  verily  am  I."  They 
might  well  resent  Livingstone's  decision,  for 
at  the  time  it  was  taken  they  were  at  the  north 
end  of  Lake  Moero,  where  Livingstone  had 
gone  to  look  at  Lualaba,  examine  the  country 


158  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

and  draw  his  conclusions  as  to  whether  this 
great  river  was  the  Congo  or  the  Nile.  The 
way  to  Tanganyika  and  Ujiji  was  now  open, 
and  this  sudden  turn  south  was  almost  more 
than  flesh  and  blood  could  stand.  However, 
the  leader  was  obdurate,  and  early  in  May, 
with  his  faithful  few,  he  is  back  at  Casembe's, 
to  the  south  of  Moero,  with  his  mind  fully 
made  up  for  Bangweolo.  Again  there  were 
tedious  delays,  and  it  is  the  second  week  in 
June  before  he  is  definitely  off  for  the  south. 
A  month's  travelling  brings  him  to  Lake 
Bangweolo.  A  Babisa  traveller  asked  him 
why  he  had  come  so  far,  and  he  answered 
that  he  wished  to  make  the  country  and 
people  better  known  to  the  rest  of  the  world ; 
that  we  were  all  children  of  one  Father,  and 
that  he  was  anxious  that  we  should  know 
each  other  better,  and  that  friendly  visits 
should  be  made  in  safety.  He  began 
exploring  the  islands  of  the  lake.  It  was 
bitterly  cold  on  one  of  them,  and  the  shed 
where  he  slept  was  decidedly  airy,  but  he 
tells  us  that  he  was  soon  asleep  and  dreamed 
that  he  had  apartments  in  Mivart's  Hotel! 


VII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  159 

At  the  end  of  July  he  started  back,  and  at 
Kizinga  he  deviated  from  his  former  route 
and  struck  out  to  the  north  for  the  Kalongosi 
River.  All  goes  well,  and  by  the  first  of 
November  he  is  back  again  at  the  north  of 
Moero,  preparing  to  march  to  Ujiji,  and 
intently  preoccupied  with  the  problem  of  the 
Nile.  The  men  who  had  deserted  him  when 
he  went  south  are  now  pleading  to  be  taken 
back.  He  reflects  that  "more  enlightened 
people  often  take  advantage  of  men  in  similar 
circumstances,"  and  adds  characteristically, 
*'  I  have  faults  myself."  So  all  the  runaways 
are  reinstated. 

The  expedition  would  have  got  away  now 
without  further  delay  but  that  the  slave  raids 
of  Mohamad  Bogharib's  men  roused  the 
countryside  against  him,  and  Livingstone 
found  himself  at  the  very  centre  of  a  small 
war,  and  literally  in  the  zone  of  fire.  Stock- 
ades were  hastily  erected,  and  the  perpetrators 
of  the  outrage  had  to  stand  a  siege.  Horrible 
scenes  were  witnessed,  and  Livingstone 
comments  on  the  miseries  which  this  devilish 
traffic    entails.     The   country   is    now   very 


i6o  DR.  LIVINGSTONE        ch.  vii 

disturbed  and  unsafe,  and  it  is  not  till 
December  nth  that  a  start  can  be  made. 
Mr.  Waller  describes  the  "motley  group" 
that  now  set  out  for  Tanganyika :  "Mohamad 
and  his  friends,  a  gang  of  Unyamwezi 
hangers-on,  and  strings  of  wretched  slaves 
yolked  together  in  their  heavy  slave-sticks. 
Some  carry  ivory,  others  copper  or  food  for 
the  march,  whilst  hope,  and  fear,  misery  and 
villainy  may  be  read  off  the  various  faces." 
Livingstone  is  now  an  actual  eye-witness  of 
a  slave  march.  The  slaves  constantly 
escape.  Sickness  and  accidents  pursue  the 
miserable  cavalcade,  and  make  progress 
slow.  Food  for  so  many  mouths  is  difficult 
to  obtain.  Christmas  Day  passes  in  a  land  of 
scarcity.  The  weather  is  very  damp  and 
cheerless  ;  and  on  New  Year's  Day  Living- 
stone, as  he  says,  got  wet  through  once  too 
often.  Yet  he  is  so  anxious  to  be  on  the  far 
side  of  the  Lofuko  that  he  wades  through, 
though  it  is  waist  deep  and  very  cold.  This 
is  the  last  straw.  He  breaks  down  utterly, 
is  "  very  ill  all  over  ;  cannot  walk ;  pneu- 
monia of  right  lung,   and    I    cough  all  day 


THE  TRAGEDY   OF   CENTRAL   AFRICA. 


i6i 


i62  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ciiAP. 

and  all  night ;  sputa  rust  of  iron,  and  bloody  ; 
distressing  weakness."  He  chronicles  the 
illusions  that  come  and  go  ;  sees  himself  lying 
dead  on  the  way  to  Ujiji,  and  all  the  letters 
waiting  for  him  useless.  It  seems  as  if  he  is 
near  the  end.  Mohamad  Bogharib  constructs 
a  kind  of  litter  for  the  helpless  veteran,  and 
in  this  litter  he  is  carried  forward  four  hours 
a  day.  It  is  the  best  that  can  be  done  ;  but 
Livingstone  tells  of  the  pain  he  endured  as 
he  was  jolted  along,  sometimes  through  steep 
ravines  and  sometimes  over  volcanic  tufa,  the 
feet  of  the  carriers  being  at  times  hurt  with 
thorns,  and  the  sun  beating  down  on  Living- 
stone's face  and  head,  which  in  his  weakness 
he  could  not  even  shelter  with  a  bunch  of 
leaves.  For  six  endless  weeks  the  sufferer 
was  borne  onward  thus,  and  on  February 
14th  all  that  is  left  of  him  is  deposited  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  and  canoes 
are  sought  to  transport  the  party  up  the  lake 
to  Ujiji.  It  was  stormy  weather  on  the  lake, 
and  the  canoes  had  to  creep  along  the 
western  shore  from  village  to  village — 
"  Patience  was  never  needed  more  than  now," 


Til  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  163 

writes  the  sick  man  in  his  extremity — ^then 
across  the  lake  to  the  east,  and  at  last, 
March  14th,  the  heroic  traveller  reaches  his 
goal,  and  does  actually  stand  for  the  first 
time  in  the  streets  of  Ujiji.  He  had  fixed  so 
many  hopes  on  this  Arab  settlement,  and  had 
lived  for  so  long  on  the  anticipation  of  letters 
and  journals,  stores  and  medicines,  that  the 
disappointment  awaiting  him  was  heart- 
rending. He  had  reached  a  den  of  thieves,  the 
vilest  he  had  ever  known.  His  stores  were 
plundered — only  eighteen  pieces  of  cloth  out 
of  eighty  remained,  and  what  was  harder  to 
bear,  only  one  old  letter  out  of  all  that  had  been 
sent  to  him.  As  for  the  medicines,  he  is  told 
they  are  at  Unyanyembe,  thirteen  days  to  the 
east  He  knew  quite  well  that  there  was  a 
conspiracy  to  thwart  him,  and  if  possible  to 
drive  him  out  of  the  country  or  compass  his 
death.  He  was  fighting  the  slave  trade  single- 
handed,  and  was  ringed  around  by  cruel  and 
unscrupulous  enemies,  whose  dark  deeds  had 
only  him  to  fear.  He  is  almost  beaten  in 
the  unequal  strife ;  almost,  but  never  quite. 
No  man  was  ever  yet  quite  beaten  who  is  as 


1 64  DR.  LIVINGSTONE        ch.  vii 

sure  of  Christ  as  he  was.  He  has  one  thing 
to  rely  on,  as  he  said  before — **  the  word  of  a 
Gentleman  of  the  strictest  honour  " — and  it  is 
enough.  So  he  will  remain  and  outwit  the 
slave-traders  if  he  can.  And  yet  it  is  a 
misnomer  to  call  it  a  "trade  "  ;  "it  is  not  a 
trade,  but  a  system  of  consecutive  murders." 
He  did  not  know,  though  he  suspected, 
how  helpless  he  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Arabs.  His  bitter  cry  could  not  reach 
England.  Forty  letters  he  wrote,  and  paid 
handsomely  for  their  delivery,  but  the  Arabs 
took  care  they  should  never  reach  the  coast. 
He  was  literally  "cut  off"  in  the  interior. 
He  heard  nothing  from  Europe,  and  Europe 
heard  nothing  of  him.  A  few  weeks  at  Ujiji 
were  enough.  Then,  all  unfit  as  he  was,  he 
starts  out  again  for  the  country  in  the  north- 
west, the  land  of  the  Manyuema,  and  the 
great  river  Lualaba,  the  direction  of  which  it 
is  his  main  purpose  now  to  determine.  He 
still  believes  it  is  the  Nile. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

When  Livingstone  crossed  Tanganyika 
again  to  the  west  and  disappeared  into  the 
new  country,  he  certainly  did  not  propose  to 
himself  more  than  an  eight  or  nine  months' 
absence.  In  reality  he  left  Ujiji  on  July  1 2th, 
1869,  and  saw  it  no  more  until  October 
23rd,  187 1.  For  two  years  and  a  quarter 
he  wandered  on,  while  the  great  world 
believed  him  to  be  dead  ;  and,  perhaps,  if  we 
had  to  name  one  period  of  his  life  which  was 
more  poignant  and  more  fruitful  than  any 
other,  it  was  this.  For  out  of  its  agonies  a 
new  hope  was  born  for  humanity.  His 
health  returns  somewhat  as  he  goes  on, 
though  many  signs  remind  him  that  he  is  not 
the  man  he  was.  He  is  only  fifty-six,  but  he 
is  worn  out  with  hardship  and  privation. 
He  cannot  walk  up-hill  without  panting  for 

i6s 


1 66  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

breath.  His  cheeks  are  hollow,  and  his 
teeth  are  broken,  or  have  fallen  out,  from 
trying  to  masticate  hard  and  sticky  food. 
*'  If  you  expect  a  kiss  from  me,"  he  writes  to 
his  daughter  Agnes,  "  you  must  take  it 
through  a  speaking-trumpet ! " 

The  2ist  of  September  sees  him  at 
Bambarr^,  the  capital  of  the  Manyuema 
country,  noting  with  thankfulness  that  as  he 
perseveres  his  strength  increases.  In  front 
of  him  is  the  Luamo  River,  flowing  west  to 
its  confluence  with  the  Lualaba,  which  again 
is  not  far  distant.  He  might  have  fulfilled 
his  ambition  to  navigate  the  Lualaba  now, 
but  could  get  no  canoes — "all  are  our 
enemies* " — and  so  returned  reluctantly  to 
Bambarr^.  It  was  from  Bambarr6  that  he 
wrote  two  letters — they  were  probably  posted 
months  later — which  actually  got  through 
the  Arab  cordon,  and  eventually  reached 
their  owners.  One  was  to  his  son  Tom. 
He  tells  of  his  hopes  to  go  down  the  Lualaba  ; 
but  he  has  frightful  ulcers  on  his  feet  "  from 
wading  in  mud."  Another  to  Sir  Thomas 
^  Maclear,   which  is   more  explicit  as  to  his 


VIII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  167 

plans.  "  I  have  to  go  down  and  see  where 
the  two  arms  unite — the  lost  city  Meroe 
ought  to  be  there — then  get  back  to  Ujiji  to 
get  a  supply  of  goods  which  I  have  ordered 
from  Zanzibar,  turn  bankrupt  after  I  secure 
them,  and  let  my  creditors  catch  me  if  they 
can,  as  I  finish  up  by  going  outside  and 
south  of  all  the  sources,  so  that  I  may  be 
sure  none  will  cut  me  out  and  say  he  found 
other  sources  south  of  mine.  ...  I  have 
still  a  seriously  long  task  before  me."  To 
his  daughter  Agnes,  whose  courage  he  never 
failed  to  praise,  he  writes  :  "  The  death 
knell  of  American  slavery  was  rung  by  a 
woman's  hand.  We  great  he-beasts  say 
Mrs.  St  owe  exaggerated.  From  what  I 
have  seen  of  slavery  I  say  exaggeration  is 
a  simple  impossibility.  I  go  with  the  sailor 
who,  on  seeing  slave-traders,  said  :  *  If  the 
devil  don't  catch  those  fellows  we  might  as 
well  have  no  devil  at  all.'  " 

After  Christmas  he  goes  away  to  the 
north,  and  discovers  the  Chanya  range. 
Marching  through  rank  jungle,  and  suffering 
much  from  fever,  and  "  choleraic  symptoms," 


1 68  DR.  LIVINGSTONE        ch.  viii 

he  turns  south  again,  and  on  the  7th  of 
February  goes  into  winter  quarters  at 
Mamohela.  Mohamad  is  still  with  him,  but 
goes  off  at  this  stage  in  search  of  ivory. 
The  entries  in  his  diary  are  now  few,  but  on 
June  26th  the  winter  season  is  evidently  over 
and  he  proposes  to  start  once  again  for  the 
Lualaba.  Once  more,  however,  he  has  to 
reckon  with  a  revolt  of  his  men,  who  desert, 
with  the  exception  of  three,  among  whom 
are  the  ever-faithful  Susi  and  Chumah.  The 
path  this  time  is  to  the  north-west.  It 
is  difficult  and  hazardous,  but  the  situation 
is  relieved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Mohamad 
Bogharib.  It  was  well,  for  Livingstone  was 
at  the  end  of  his  strength.  "  Flooded 
rivers,  breast  and  neck  deep,  had  to  be 
crossed,  and  the  mud  was  awful."  His  feet 
"  failed  him "  for  the  first  time  in  his  life. 
*'  Irritable,  eating  ulcers  fastened  on  both 
feet."  In  indescribable  pain,  he  "limped 
back  to  Bambarrd"  This  was  on  July  22, 
1870. 

For  the  next  eighty  days  he  was  a  prisoner 
in  his  hut.     He  could  do  nothing  but  think, 


■I    READ   THE   BIBLE   THROUGH    FOUR   TIMES   WHILST   I   WAS   IN 

MANYUEMA." 

X69 


1 70  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

read  the  Bible,  and  pray.  He  read  the 
Bible  through  four  times  during  his  stay  in 
the  Manyuema  country.  He  was  fascinated 
by  the  personality  of  Moses  and  his  con- 
nection with  the  Nile;  and  thinks  favourably 
of  the  legend  that  associates  him  with  the 
lost  city,  Meroe,  at  the  junction  of  the  two 
rivers  Lualaba.  He  meditates  tenderly  on 
the  stratagem  of  the  "old  Nile"  hiding  its 
head  so  cunningly,  and  baffling  so  many 
human  efforts.  One  of  his  resources  is  the 
Soko,  a  kind  of  gorilla,  often  made  captive. 
It  is  physically  repulsive  to  him,  but  it 
interests  him  as  a  naturalist  ;  and  later  on  he 
becomes  possessed  of  one,  which  he  pets  and 
proposes  to  take  back  to  Europe.  When 
most  helpless  he  sketches  out  his  future  ;  and 
in  imagination  names  certain  lakes  and  rivers 
after  old  English  friends  and  benefactors  — 
Palmerston,  Webb,  and  Young ;  and  one 
lake  after  the  great  Lincoln.  On  the  loth 
of  October,  he  is  able- for  the  first  time  to 
crawl  out  of  his  hut.  On  the  25th  he  makes 
this  significant  entry  in  his  journal :  "In  this 
journey  I  have  endeavoured  to  follow  with 


viii  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  171 

unswerving  fidelity  the  line  of  duty.  All  the 
hardship,  hunger  and  toil  were  met  with 
the  full  conviction  that  I  was  right  in 
persevering  to  make  a  complete  work  of  the 
exploration  of  the  sources  of  the  Nile.  The 
prospect  of  death  in  pursuing  what  I  knew 
to  be  right  did  not  make  me  veer  to  one  side 
or  the  other."  Never  had  any  man  a  better 
right  to  use  such  words. 

He  is  waiting  now  for  the  arrival  of  Syde 
bin  Habib,  Dugumbe,  and  others  who  are 
bringing  him  letters  and  medicines  from 
Ujiji.  Months  pass  and  there  is  no  sign  of 
them.  He  is  heartsick  and  weary  with  the 
intolerable  delay.  The  one  excitement  is  in 
the  shedding  of  blood.  Every  day  has  its 
story  of  horrors,  and  he  can  bear  it  no  longer. 
But  there  are  to  be  darker  tragedies  yet 
before  he  escapes  out  of  the  Manyuema 
country. 

The  year  1871  dawns.  "O  Father! 
Help  me  to  finish  this  work  to  Thy  glory." 

It  was  February  before  the  men  arrived 
who  were  bringing  letters  and  stores  for  him  ; 
but,  alas  !  "only  one  letter  reached,  and  forty 


172  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

are  missing."  The  men,  too,  have  been 
corrupted  by  the  Arabs,  and  refuse  to  go 
north  with  him.  He  is  again  outwitted  by 
his  cunning  foes.  Weary  days  of  bargaining 
follow,  and  at  last  terms  are  arranged.  The 
expedition  starts,  and  on  March  29th  Living- 
stone is  at  Nyangw6  on  the  bank  of  the 
Lualaba,  the  furthest  point  westward  that  he 
was  to  reach  at  this  time.  He  finds  the 
Lualaba  here  "a  mighty  river  3,cxx)  yards 
broad." 

Livingstone  was  to  learn  to  his  cost  that 
the  men  who  had  been  sent  up  country  to 
him,  ostensibly  to  help  him  on  his  way,  were 
his  worst  enemies.  They  poisoned  the 
minds  of  the  Manyuema  against  him.  They 
stirred  up  strife,  and  were  guilty  of  every 
kind  of  crime.  All  Livingstone's  efforts  to 
get  canoes  for  exploring  the  river  were 
neutralised  by  them  ;  though  he  afterwards 
saw  in  this  the  hand  of  God  for  his  deliver- 
ance, for  other  canoes  were  lost  in  the  rapids. 
"  We  don't  always  know  the  dangers  we  are 
guided  past." 
.  We  now  reach  the  event  which  was  the 


VIII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  173 

climax  of  Livingstone's  moral  sufferings,  and 
which,  when  known  in  Europe,  sent  a  thrill 
of  horror  through  the  nations  which  had 
heard  of  the  lesser  agonies  of  the  slave  traffic 
with  comparative  indifference.  On  the  28th 
of  June,  one  of  Syde  bin  Habib's  slaves, 
named  Manilla,  set  fire  to  eight  or  ten 
villages,  alleging  an  old  debt  by  way  of  an 
excuse.  He  then  made  blood-brotherhood 
with  other  tribes,  which  angered  Dugumb^ 
and  his  followers,  who  planned  revenge. 
The  15th  of  July  was  a  lovely  summer  day, 
and  about  1,500  people  came  together  for 
the  market.  Livingstone  was  strolling  round 
observing  the  life  in  the  market  place,  when 
three  of  Dugumb6's  men  opened  fire  upon 
the  assembled  crowd,  and  another  small 
troop  began  to  shoot  down  the  panic-stricken 
women  as  they  fled  to  the  canoes  on  the 
river.  So  many  canoes  were  pushed  off  at 
once  down  the  creek  that  they  got  jammed, 
and  the  murderers  on  the  bank  poured  volley 
after  volley  into  them.  Numbers  of  the 
victims  sprang  into  the  water  and  swam  out 
into  the   river.     Many  were   hit  and  sank ; 


174  DR.  LIVINGSTONE       ch.  viii 

others  were  drowned.  Canoes  capsized  and 
their  occupants  were  lost.  The  Arabs 
reckoned  the  dead  at  four  hundred ;  and 
even  then  the  men  who  had  tasted  blood 
continued  the  awful  butchery  and  fired 
village  after  village.  "  No  one  will  ever 
know,"  writes  Livingstone,  "  the  exact  loss 
on  this  bright,  sultry,  summer  morning ;  it 
gave  me  the  impression  of  being  in  hell." 
Dugumbd  protested  his  innocence,  and 
helped  to  save  some  who  were  drowning ; 
but  it  is  clear  that  Livingstone  in  his  heart 
accuses  him  of  complicity.  He  counted 
twelve  burning  villages ;  and  on  the  next 
day  sees  as  many  as  seventeen.  "  The 
open  murder  perpetrated  on  hundreds  of 
unsuspecting  women  fills  me  with  unspeak- 
able horror."  It  "felt  to  me  like  Gehenna," 
he  writes  later ;  and  the  nightmare  never 
left  him  afterwards.  "  I  cannot  stay  here 
in  agony,"  he  adds  ;  and  on  the  20th  he 
starts  back  for  Ujiji,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties 
of  those  who  had  every  reason  to  desire  that 
he  should  not  go  away  and  publish  the  story. 
The  atrocious  wickedness  of  the  Arabs  was. 


S7S 


176  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

that  they  demoralised  their  slaves,  and 
trained  them  to  perpetrate  these  butcheries 
of  natives,  and  then  excused  themselves  on 
the  ground  that  they  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  crime. 

The  homeward  march  lay  through  miles 
of  villages,  all  burned  ;  and  it  was  impossible 
to  convince  the  wretched  survivors  that  he 
himself  had  not  been  guilty.  Ambushes 
were  laid  to  murder  him  and  his  party.  A 
large  spear  "almost  grazed  my  back." 
Another  spear  missed  him  by  only  a  foot. 
Two  of  his  men  were  slain.  A  huge  tree 
had  been  loosened  at  the  roots,  and  almost 
fell  upon  him.  Three  times  in  one  day  he 
escaped  death  by  a  hair's-breadth.  So  im- 
pressed were  his  people  that  they  cried, 
"  Peace  !  peace  !  you  will  finish  your  work  in 
spite  of  everything."  He  took  it  as  an 
omen,  and  gave  thanks  to  the  "Almighty 
Preserver  of  men."  For  five  hours  he  ran 
the  gauntlet,  "  perfectly  indifferent  whether  I 
were  killed  or  not." 

The  march  was  pursued  in  great  suffering 
through  August  and  September,  and  on  into 


VIII  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  177 

October.  Once,  he  says,  he  felt  like  dying 
on  his  feet.  He  was  profoundly  shaken  and 
depressed.  The  infamous  traders  succeeded, 
but  he  had  failed,  he  alone,  "and  experienced 
worry,  thwarting,  baffling,  when  almost  in 
sight  of  the  end  for  which  I  strained." 

On  the  23rd  of  October,  reduced  to  a 
skeleton,  "a  mere  ruckle  of  bones,"  he 
arrived  at  Ujiji.  Shereef,  who  had  custody 
of  his  goods,  had  sold  them  all  off  Shereef, 
says  Livingstone,  is  "  a  moral  idiot."  Little 
wonder  that  he  feels  like  the  man  in  the 
parable  who  fell  among  thieves,  only,  alas! 
there  was  no  Good  Samaritan.  So  he  felt ; 
but  this  time  he  was  mistaken.  "  When  my 
spirits  were  at  their  lowest  ebb,  the  Good 
Samaritan  was  close  at  hand."  No  part  of 
his  amazing  story  is  better  known.  On  the 
morning  of  October  28,  1871,  Susi  came 
running  to  him  "at  the  top  of  his  speed 
and  gasped  out,  *an  Englishman.  I  see 
him!'" 

A  caravan  was  approaching  with  the 
American  flag  flying  over  it.  A  few  minutes 
and  the  stranger  was  in  front  of  him,  holding 


178  DR.  LIVINGSTONE        ch.  viii 

out  his  hand,  with  the  words,  '*  Dr.  Living- 
stone, I  presume ! "  It  was  Henry  Morton 
Stanley,  who  had  undertaken  to  find  him, 
alive  or  dead.  He  had  engaged  to  do  so 
two  years  before;  and  he  had  kept  his 
word. 


CHAPTER   IX 

In   the  middle  of  October,    1869,   when 

Livingstone   was   at    Bambarr^  in  quest  of 

the    Lualaba,    Mr.    Stanley   was    travelling 

from    Madrid   to   Paris   in   response   to   an 

urgent  telegram   from    Mr.    James   Gordon 

Bennett,    Jr.,    of   the   New    York    Herald, 

**  Where  do  you   think    Livingstone   is  ?  " 

was    Mr.    Bennett's    query    when    Stanley 

arrived.     The  latter  confessed  his  ignorance. 

The  world  in  general  seemed  to  be  content 

to  go  on,   regardless  of  Livingstone's  fate. 

Nobody  knew  for  certain  whether   he  was 

alive  or  dead.     Mr.  Bennett  approached  the 

question  as  a  journalist.    To  find  Livingstone 

was  the  most  sensational  feat  that  could  be 

performed.    Mr.  Bennett  probably  underrated 

his   own   motive  of  humanity  ;    but  he  felt 

that  David   Livingstone  was  good  "copy," 

179 


i8o  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  ix 

and  that  if  he  were  discovered  the  world 
would  ring  with  the  enterprise  of  the  great 
paper  with  which  he  was  honourably  asso- 
ciated. His  instructions  to  Mr.  Stanley 
were  of  the  simplest :  "  Spare  no  expense  ; 
spend  all  the  money  you  want ;  only  find 
Livingstone."  By  a  curious  arrangement, 
Stanley  was  first  of  all  to  make  a  grand  tour 
through  Constantinople,  Palestine,  Egypt, 
India.  That  is  why  he  did  not  cross 
to  Zanzibar  till  the  beginning  of  1871. 
Livingstone  might  have  reappeared  in  the 
interval,  but  there  was  no  sign.  Accord- 
ingly, Stanley  organised  an  imposing  ex- 
pedition of  nearly  200  persons  in  five 
caravans,  with  all  kinds  of  stores,  necessary 
and  luxurious,  and  made  for  the  interior 
by  way  of  Unyanyembe.  There  he  himself 
all  but  perished  of  fever,  and  afterwards 
escaped  by  a  hand's-breadth  being  made 
the  victim  of  a  war  between  the  Arabs 
and  the  natives.  However,  he  stuck  to  his 
errand  and,  as  we  have  seen,  arrived  in 
Ujiji  and  greeted  Livingstone  just  when 
the  latter  was  most  in  need  of  the  kind  of 


STANLEY  FINDS   LIVINGSTONS. 
x8s 


1 82  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

cheer  and  aid  that  Stanley  had  brought. 
Five  years  had  passed  since  Livingstone 
had  had  news  of  the  outer  world  ;  and 
even  now  it  is  a  question  whether  Stanley's 
story  to  Livingstone  or  Livingstone's  to 
Stanley  was  the  greater  tale.  Stanley 
brought  news  of  the  Franco-German  War, 
of  General  Grant's  Presidency,  of  the  elec- 
tric cables  laid,  and,  what  touched  Living- 
stone deeply,  of  a  vote  of  ;!{^i,ooo  for  supplies 
to  him  by  the  Government.  So  he  was 
not  entirely  forgotten  !  Livingstone's  story 
was  told  by  degrees  —  a  story  of  which 
Stanley  could  be  left  to  estimate  the  heroism 
and  miraculous  endurance.  Never  before 
or  since  has  such  a  story  of  one  lone  man's 
achievement  been  told  to  any  listener.  This 
was  the  man  Stanley  had  found  :  this  was 
the  man  he  was  now  to  save  from  despair 
and  collapse.  "  You  have  brought  me  new 
life ! "  Livingstone  kept  saying ;  and  it  was 
true  in  every  sense.  For  Stanley  had 
brought  him  news,  and  food,  and  medicine, 
and  comfort,  and,  above  all,  companionship. 
His  recovery  was  remarkable.      He    began 


IX  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  183 

to  enjoy  every  luxury  provided  for  him. 
He  revelled  in  the  descriptions  of  the 
history  of  the  memorable  five  years,  as 
Stanley  described  it  in  graphic  fashion. 
He  read  and  re-read  his  home  letters.  He 
luxuriated  in  clothes,  new  and  clean  and 
warm.  The  imagination  loves  to  dwell  on 
this  oasis  in  the  desert  of  his  last  years. 
He  was  supremely  happy,  full  of  laughter 
and  anecdote  ;  above  all,  full  of  gratitude 
to  the  resourceful  and  admiring  friend  who 
had  dropped  from  the  clouds  to  relieve  his 
solitude  and  brace  his  soul  for  the  final 
exploits.  It  was  Stanley's  own  testimony 
that  this  meeting,  and  the  cheerful  days 
that  followed,  seemed  to  take  ten  years  off 
Livingstone's  age,  and  bring  back  the  air 
of  youth  to  his  face  and  figure. 

They  planned  together  an  exploration  of 
the  northern  end  of  Lake  Tanganyika.  It 
was  a  "picnic,"  or  so  Livingstone  called  it ; 
and  it  was  carried  out  in  that  spirit.  The 
old  explorer  had  always  been  convinced  that 
Lake  Tanganyika  contributed  its  waters  to 
the  Nile.     They  found  but  one  river  at  the 


1 84  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

northern  end,  and  that  river  flowed  in,  not 
out.  Even  so,  he  was  not  wholly  convinced 
that  his  theory  was  unsound.  There  were 
incidents  in  the  journey  that  revealed  to  the 
younger  man  Livingstone's  patience  and 
forbearance,  and  the  secret  of  his  unique 
power  in  gentleness  and  the  forgiving  spirit. 
The  impression  made  was  never  effaced. 

Of  the  picture  of  Livingstone,  drawn  by 
Mr.  Stanley's  sympathetic  and  accomplished 
hand,  we  shall  have  more  to  say  in  the  final 
chapter.  Meanwhile  we  only  record  that 
Stanley  succeeded  beyond  all  hopes  in  the 
first  part  of  his  mission,  and  as  conspicuously 
failed  in  the  second.  The  first  part  was  to 
find  Livingstone  and  minister  to  his  needs. 
There  is  no  manner  of  doubt  that  this 
mission  was  well  and  truly  performed. 
Stanley's  repeated  acts  of  generosity  brought 
the  tears  to  Livingstone's  eyes,  and  this 
"  cold  northerner,"  as  he  called  himself,  was 
moved  beyond  words.  From  Stanley  he 
also  received  abundance  of  stores  and 
medicines,  as  well  as  a  company  of  carriers 
sent  back  to  him  eventually  from  Zanzibar. 


IX  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  185 

But  as  to  the  second  part  of  the  mission, 
which  was  to  persuade  Livingstone  to  go 
home  at  once,  where  honours  and  fortune 
awaited  him,  and  his  nearest  and  dearest 
were  yearning  to  see  him  again — in  this 
Stanley  had  no  success.  To  return,  and  go 
wearily  over  many  of  his  old  tracks  ;  to  dare 
once  again  the  perils  of  fever,  the  enmity  of 
the  slave  trader,  and  the  ignorant  antagonism 
of  savage  peoples — this  was  the  alternative 
programme,  and  he  was  resolute  to  carry  it 
out.  His  problem  was  not  yet  fully  solved ; 
and,  if  he  could  help  it,  he  would  not  carry 
mere  half-baked  theories  back  to  England 
after  five  years  of  wandering  and  exile. 
When  his  daughter  Agnes  wrote,  "  Much  as 
I  wish  you  to  come  home,  I  had  rather  that 
you  finished  your  work  to  your  own  satisfac- 
tion than  return  merely  to  gratify  me,"  he 
writes  proudly  in  his  journal :  "  Rightly  and 
nobly  said,  my  darling  Nannie ;  vanity 
whispers  pretty  loudly,  '  She  is  a  chip  of  the 
old  block.'  My  blessing  on  her,  and  all 
the  rest." 
The  plan  then  formed  between  the  two 


1 86  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

travellers  was  to  return  together  to  Un- 
yanyembe,  where  Stanley  had  stores  waiting. 
The  latter  would  then  push  on  rapidly  to 
Zanzibar,  and  send  back  carriers  for  Living- 
stone's new  expedition.  With  these,  the 
veteran  proposed  to  return  to  a  final  examina- 
tion of  the  sources  of  the  great  rivers,  clear 
up  the  points  still  in  dispute,  and  then  turn 
his  face  home.  They  set  out  together  at  the 
end  of  the  year  1871,  and  arrived  after  seven 
weeks'  travelling  at  Unyanyembe,  on  Feb. 
1 8th,  1 8  7  2 .  The  march  Is  prosaically  recorded 
by  Livingstone.  The  most  frequent  entries 
concern  Stanley's  repeated  attacks  of  fever. 
Occasionally  he  was  so  weak  that  he  had  to 
be  carried.  But  for  the  tireless  ministration  of 
his  great  companion,  and  the  cheering  effect 
of  his  presence,  which  was  worth  many  doses 
of  quinine,  Stanley  might  easily  have  suc- 
cumbed. They  reached  their  destination 
only  to  find  that  thieves  had  been  active  as 
usual,  and  that  both  Livingstone's  and 
Stanley's  stores  had  been  extensively 
plundered.  There  was  enough  left,  how- 
ever, to  make  Livingstone  feel  rich :  **  I  am 


IX  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  187 

quite  set  up ;  and  as  soon  as  he  can  send 
me  men,  not  slaves,  from  the  coast,  I  go 
to  my  work,  with  a  fair  prospect  of  finishing 
It 

The  two  friends  remained  together  nearly 
a  month  at  Unyanyembe.  Letters  and 
parcels  arrived.  Livingstone  rejoices  in 
"four  flannel  shirts  from  Agnes,"  and  "two 
pairs  of  fine  English  boots"  from  a  friend. 
Despatches  have  to  be  written,  articles  for 
the  New  York  Herald,  and  grateful  letters  to 
many  American  and  English  friends — all  of 
which  Stanley  will  take  with  him.  At  last, 
on  March  14th,  the  time  has  come  to  say 
good-bye.  Livingstone's  entry  in  his  diary 
is  characteristic :  "  Mr.  Sfanley  leaves. 
I  commit  to  his  care  my  journal,  sealed 
with  five  seals  ;  the  impressions  on  them  are 
those  of  an  American  gold  coin,  anna  and  half- 
anna,  and  cake  of  paint  with  royal  arms. 
Positively  not  to  be  opened."  All  that  one 
man  (naturally  reticent  and  reserved)  could 
say  of  the  limitless  kindness  shown  by 
Stanley,  and  the  noble  interest  taken  by 
America,  Livingstone  expressed  in  his  private   , 


i88  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

letters.  It  is  to  Stanley's  picturesque  pen 
that  we  owe  the  description  of  the  final  part- 
ing, and  we  may  well  quote  a  few  sentences 
from  it : — "  My  days  seem  to  have  been 
spent  in  an  Elysian  field ;  otherwise,  why 
should  I  so  keenly  regret  the  near  approach 
of  the  parting  hour  ?  Have  I  not  been 
battered  by  successive  fevers,  prostrate  with 
agony  day  after  day  lately  ?  Have  I  not 
raved  and  stormed  in  madness?  Have  I 
not  clenched  my  fists  in  fury,  and  fought  with 
the  wild  strength  of  despair  when  in  delirium  ? 
Yet  I  regret  to  surrender  the  pleasure  I  have 
felt  in  this  man's  society,  though  so  dearly 
purchased.  .  .  .  March  14th. — We  had  a 
sad  breakfast  together.  I  could  not  eat,  my 
heart  was  too  full ;  neither  did  my  companion 
seem  to  have  an  appetite.  We  found  some- 
thing to  do  which  kept  us  longer  together. 
At  eight  o'clock  I  was  not  gone,  and  I  had 
thought  to  have  been  off  at  5  a.m."  But  the 
final  parting  must  be  faced.  The  Doctor 
will  walk  out  a  little  way  with  his  friend,  and 
start  him  on  his  journey.  The  carriers  were 
in  lively  mood,  singing  on  the  march.     The 


IX  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  189 

two  friends  walked  side  by  side,  Stanley 
searching  Livingstone's  features  to  impress 
every  detail  on  his  memory.  At  last  he  halts. 
"  Now,  my  dear  Doctor,  the  best  friends 
must  part ;  you  have  come  far  enough,  let 
me  beg  of  you  to  turn  back."  "  Well," 
Livingstone  replied,  *'  I  will  say  this  of  you  : 
you  have  done  what  few  men  could  do — far 
better  than  some  great  travellers  I  know. 
And  I  am  grateful  to  you  for  what  you  have 
done  for  me.  God  guide  you  safe  home 
and  bless  you,  my  friend."  '•  And  may  God 
bring  you  safe  back  to  us  all,  my  dear  friend. 
Farewell !  "  "  Farewell ! "  Livingstone  turned 
away.  Did  his  heart  forebode  that  this  was 
the  last  white  face  he  would  ever  see,  the 
last  white  hand  he  would  ever  press  ?  Did 
he  feel  that  he  was  turning  his  back  for  ever 
on  home,  and  rest,  and  freedom  ?  Just 
when  a  dip  in  the  path  would  hide  the  return- 
ing exile  finally  from  view,  Stanley  turned  to 
take  one  more  look.  "  The  old  man  in  grey 
clothes "  was  still  there.  He,  too,  turned 
round.  "He  was  standing  near  the  gate  of 
Kwihaha    with    his   servants    near  him.     I 


I90  DR.  LIVINGSTONE         gh.  ix 

waved    a    handkerchief    to     him,    and    he 
responded  by  lifting  his  cap." 

This  was  on  March  14th.  On  March  17th, 
at  a  spot  agreed  upon,  Susi  and  Hamaydah 
found  Stanley  and  delivered  to  him  a  letter 
signed  by  Livingstone,  in  which  the  latter 
gives  him  a  well-seasoned  Scotch  counsel, 
"  to  put  a  stout  heart  to  a  stey  brae  "  ;  rejoices 
that  Stanley's  fever  has  assumed  "  the  inter- 
mittent or  safe  form,"  and  concludes,  "  I  feel 
comfortable  in  commending  you  to  the 
guardianship  of  the  good  Lord  and  Father  of 
all." 

Two  days  later  it  was  Livingstone's  birth- 
day; and  his  diary  reminds  us  that  though 
this  new  friend  has  come  and  gone,  there  is 
One  Who  is  with  him  always  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world. 

March  i()th. — My  birthday.  My  Jesus,  my 
King,  my  Life,  my  all !  I  again  dedicate  my 
whole  self  to  Thee.    Accept  me.    And  grant, 

0  Gracious  Father,  that   ere   this    year    is 
gone  I  may  finish  my  work.     In  Jesus'  name, 

1  ask  it.     Amen. 


CHAPTER   X 

As  we  have  seen,  Livingstone  said  farewell 
to  Stanley  on  March  14th,  1872  ;  and  pre- 
pared to  wait  in  Unyanyembe  until  his  friend 
had  reached  Zanzibar,  and  sent  a  body  of 
picked  natives  back  to  act  as  his  escort.  In 
his  diary  he  makes  careful  reckonings  as  to 
the  length  of  time  this  will  mean,  and  con- 
cludes that  he  cannot  expect  his  men  until 
July  15th.  It  was  August  14th  before 
they  arrived.  He  had  to  wait  five  weary 
months  at  Unyanyembe  ;  and  the  lateness  of 
his  start  brought  the  wet  weather  near,  and 
handicapped  the  expedition  from  the  first.  We 
may  just  stay  to  record  that  Stanley's  march 
to  the  coast  was  beset  with  difficulties — "  the 
whole  ten  plagues  of  Egypt " — but  it  was 
successfully  accomplished,  and  the   men  he 

sent  back  to    Livingstone  were  of  the  very 

191 


192  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

best.  Stanley  encountered  at  Zanzibar 
members  of  an  English  relief  expedition  that 
had  been  sent  out  to  find  and  succour  Living- 
stone. Of  this  expedition,  the  explorer's  son, 
Oswell,  was  a  member.  After  hearing 
Stanley's  news  they  decided  that  it  was 
unnecessary  to  go  on,  and  returned  to 
England. 

To  the  ordinary  person  five  months  of 
waiting  would  have  been  almost  intolerable. 
There  are  signs  that  even  Livingstone  had 
some  ado  to  sit  still  and  count  the  days. 
But  if  they  were  profitless  months  to  him, 
and  if  often  he  was,  as  he  records,  "  weary, 
weary,"  the  revelations  contained  in  his 
journal  are  by  no  means  profitless  to  us.  He 
has  time  to  write  fully  as  to  his  plans  and  his 
motives.  He  takes  us  into  his  confidence ; 
and  we  see  that  he  has  lost  nothing  in  all 
these  years  of  that  eager  curiosity  which 
belonged  to  him  as  a  boy.  He  still  carries  In 
his  breast  '*  the  heart  of  a  little  child."  The 
wonderful  Ptolemy  and  the  naive  Herodotus 
are  pondered  over ;  and  all  the  stories  of 
"fountains"  and   "pillars"  awaken   in    the 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  193 

great  traveller  the  desire  to  test  them  for 
himself.  He  is  evidently  not  sure  that  there 
is  not  something  in  them  after  all.  He  would 
dearly  like  to  find  out.  He  cannot  reconcile 
Ptolemy  with  the  investigation  of  Baker, 
Speke,  and  Grant ;  and  it  has  all  the  delight  of 
a  fascinating  conundrum  to  him. 

April  iZth. — "I  pray  the  good  Lord  of 
all  to  favour  me  so  as  to  allow  me  to  discover 
the  ancient  fountains  of  Herodotus,  and  if 
there  is  anything  in  the  underground  ex- 
cavations to  confirm  the  precious  old  docu- 
ments (ra  /9ty3\/a),  the  Scriptures  of  truth, 
may  He  permit  me  to  bring  it  to  light, 
and  give  me  wisdom  to  make  a  proper  use 
of  it." 

On  the  first  of  May  he  records  that  he 
has  finished  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Herald.  This  is  the  letter  which  concludes 
with  the  now  world-renowned  words  upon 
his  tablet  in  the  Abbey — "  All  I  can  add 
in  my  loneliness  is,  may  Heaven's  rich 
blessing  come  down  on  every  one — Ameri- 
can, English,  or  Turk — who  will  help  to 
heal   the   open   sore  of  the  world."     By   a 


194  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

coincidence  the  words  were  written  one  year 
to  the  very  day  before  the  writer's  death. 

He  meditates  much  on  the  native  faiths. 
He  recognises  as  the  fundamental  fact 
"  dependence  on  a  Divine  Power,"  but 
"  without  any  conscious  feeling  of  its 
nature."  He  notes  also  their  belief  in  a 
continued  existence  after  death,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  do  good  to  those  they  love  and 
evil  to  those  they  hate. 

"I  don't  know  how  the  great  loving 
Father  will  bring  all  out  right  at  last,  but 
He  knows  and  will  do  it."  For  himself, 
his  confidence  is  anchored,  as  it  has  always 
been,  in  the  plain  word  of  Christ,  the 
perfect  Gentleman. 

May  i^th. — "  He  will  keep  His  word,  the 
Gracious  One,  full  of  grace  and  truth — no 
doubt  of  it.  He  said,  *  Him  that  cometh 
unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,'  and 
'  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  name  that 
will  I  do.'  He  will  keep  His  word  :  then 
I  can  come  and  humbly  present  my  petition 
and  it  will  be  all  right.  Doubt  is  here  in- 
admissible, surely." 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  195 

He  is  reading  Speke  s  travels  with  critical 
enjoyment.  He  spends  a  page  or  two 
in  challenging  his  statement  that  African 
mothers  sell  their  own  children.  He  does 
not  believe  it.  He  has  never  known  an 
instance,  nor  have  the  Arabs.  He  always 
defends  the  essential  goodness  of  the  natives, 
and  their  common  human  feelings.  Then 
he  appeals  to  the  heroism  of  the  Church 
at  home  to  come  and  help  the  African 
people.  "  I  would  say  to  missionaries, 
Come  on,  brethren,  to  the  real  heathen. 
You  have  no  idea  how  brave  you  are  till 
you  try.  Leaving  the  coast  tribes  and 
devoting  yourselves  heartily  to  the  savages, 
as  they  are  called,  you  will  find,  with  some 
drawbacks  and  wickednesses,  a  very  great 
deal  to  admire  and  love."  A  little  later 
he  is  arguing  that  the  interior  is  a  tempting 
field  for  **  well-sustained  efforts  of  private 
benevolence."  He  thinks  the  missionary 
should  make  up  his  mind  not  to  depend 
upon  "foreign  support,"  and  gives  instances 
of  his  own  resourcefulness  where  he  had 
none    to    depend   on    but    himself.       He  is 


196  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

for  "a  sort  of  Robinson  Crusoe  life,"  the 
great  object  being  "  to  improve  the  im- 
provable among  the  natives."  As  to  method, 
he  writes  later,  "no  jugglery  or  sleight-of- 
hand  .  .  .  would  have  any  effect  in  the 
civilisation  of  Africans  ;  they  have  too  much 
good  sense  for  that.  Nothing  brings  them 
to  place  thorough  confidence  in  Europeans 
but  a  long  course  of  well-doing.  .  .  .  Good- 
ness and  unselfishness  impress  their  minds 
more  than  any  kind  of  skill  or  power. 
They  say,  'You  have  different  hearts  from 
ours.'  .  .  .  The  prayer  to  Jesus  for  a  new 
heart  and  a  right  spirit  at  once  commends 
itself  as  appropriate."  He  notes,  too,  that 
music  influences  them,  and  often  leads  to 
conversion. 

Scattered  through  the  journal  are  his 
usual  keen  observations  on  the  animal  life 
and  plant  life  of  the  district,  together  with 
brief  narratives  of  tribal  quarrels  and  crimes. 
Again  and  again  he  confesses  uncertainty  as 
to  whether  he  has  not  been  tracing  the 
sources  of  the  Congo  rather  than  the  Nile. 
If  he  had  not  had  a  scientific  mind  and  train- 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  197 

ing,  he  argues  that  long  ere  this  he  would 
have  cried  '*  Eureka!"  and  gone  home  with  a 
half-proved  hypothesis.  But  his  absolute 
love  of  truth  forbids. 

By  the  middle  of  July  his  men  have  not 
come,  though  he  has  heard  of  them  as  being 
on  the  way.  He  is  very  tired  of  the  delay  ; 
but  returns  at  length  to  the  subject  of  missions 
in  Africa,  and  indulges  in  one  passage  which 
clearly  shows  how  his  Puritan  common-sense 
never  deserted  him.  "A  couple  of  Euro- 
peans beginning  and  carrying  on  a  mission 
without  a  staff  of  foreign  attendants  implies 
coarse  country  fare,  it  is  true,  but  this  would 
be  nothing  to  those  who  at  home  amuse 
themselves  with  fasts,  vigils,  &c."  A  great 
deal  of  power  is  thus  lost  in  the  Church. 
Fastings  and  vigils,  without  a  special  object 
in  view,  are  time  run  to  waste.  They  are 
made  to  minister  to  a  sort  of  self-gratification, 
instead  of  being  turned  to  account  for  the 
good  of  others.  They  are  like  groaning  in 
sickness.  Some  people  amuse  themselves 
when  ill  with  continuous  moaning.  The 
forty  days  of  Lent  might  be  annually  spent 


198  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

in  visiting  adjacent  tribes  and  bearing 
unavoidable  hunger  and  thirst  with  a  good 
grace.  Considering  the  greatness  of  the 
object  to  be  attained,  men  might  go  without 
sugar,  coffee,  tea,  &c.  I  went  from  Sep- 
tember, 1866,  to  December,  1868,  without 
either." 

He  gives  us  also  a  vivid  summary  of  his 
impressions  of  the  slave  system,  assuring  us 
that  "  in  sober  seriousness,  the  subject  does 
not  admit  of  exaggeration.  To  overdraw  its 
evils  is  a  simple  impossibility.  The  sights  I 
have  seen,  though  common  incidents  of  the 
traffic,  are  so  nauseous  that  I  always  try  to 
drive  them  from  memory.  In  the  case  of 
most  disagreeable  recollections  I  can  succeed, 
in  time,  in  consigning  them  to  oblivion,  but 
the  slaving  scenes  come  back  unbidden,  and 
make  me  start  up  at  dead  of  night  horrified 
by  their  vividness." 

August  comes,  and  still  no  arrivals. 
There  is  a  charming  description  of  the 
African  children  and  their  sports  and  games, 
followed  by  observations  on  the  swallows 
and   the   spiders.     Then   he    breaks   off  to 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  199 

exclaim  :  "  That  is  the  atonement  of  Christ. 
It  is  Himself.  It  is  the  inherent  and  ever- 
lasting mercy  of  God  made  apparent  to 
human  eyes  and  ears.  The  everlasting  love 
was  disclosed  by  our  Lord's  life  and  death. 
It  showed  that  God  forgives  because  He 
loves  to  forgive.  He  works  by  smiles,  if 
possible ;  if  not,  by  frowns.  Pain  is  only  a 
means  of  enforcing  love." 

At  last,  on  August  14th,  the  miserable 
suspense  is  at  an  end.  The  new  expedition 
marches  safely  into  Unyanyembe.  Living- 
stone lifts  up  his  heart  in  gratitude  to  God. 
Many  of  those  who  have  come  to  help  him 
had  marched  with  Stanley  and  were  well 
seasoned.  Some  were  Nassick  boys  from 
Bombay,  among  whom  were  John  and  Jacob 
Wain  Wright.  It  will  never  be  forgotten 
how  much  we  owe  to  the  intelligence  and 
courage  of  the  latter.  Five  only  in  the 
new  expedition  belonged  to  Livingstone's 
"  original  followers."  These  are  Susi, 
Chumah,  Amoda,  Mabruki  and  Gardner. 
It  is  much  to  know  that  Livingstone  was 
never   more    loyally  and    devotedly   served 


200  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

than  during  this  last  march,  which  was  to 
have  so  sad  a  termination  and  so  heroic  a 
sequel. 

Ten  days  were  allowed  for  rest  and 
preparations  for  departure,  which  included 
the  setting  aside  of  certain  stores  to  await 
them  on  the  homeward  march.  Then,  on 
August  25th,  they  slipped  quietly  out  of  the 
town  of  which  Livingstone  was  so  weary, 
and  started  for  the  southern  part  of 
Tanganyika.  We  are  beginning  now  the 
last  journey,  which  ended  eight  and  a  half 
months  later,  after  incredible  toils  and 
sufferings.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the 
exact  length  of  it,  for  there  were  many  short 
diversions.  One  need  only  remember  that 
from  the  middle  of  September  David 
Livingstone  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
a  dying  man.  The  internal  haemorrhage 
began  again,  and  the  entry  in  his  diary  on 
September  19th  is  that  for  eight  days  he 
has  eaten  nothing.  No  rest  and  no 
medicines  have  any  lasting  effect  upon  him 
after  this ;  and  he  can  scarcely  have  been 
out  of  pain,  which  frequently  amounted  to 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  201 

agony.  They  made  their  way  at  first  mainly 
through  forest  and  hilly  country,  passing 
from  village  to  village,  each  day  having  its 
burden  of  travel,  its  problem  of  supplies. 
Livingstone  finds  the  climbing  "  very  sore 
on  legs  and  lungs."  On  the  8th  of  October 
his  eyes  rested  once  again  on  the  blue 
waters  of  Tanganyika.  The  day  heat  is 
very  trying.  Some  of  the  men  are  sick  ; 
all  are  tired.  "  Inwardly  I  feel  tired 
too." 

They  had  come  to  Tanganyika  by  a 
circuitous  route.  They  now  kept  to  the 
highlands  running  south-west,  and  travelled 
along  the  ridge,  1,000  feet  above  the  lake. 
He  notes  that  the  lake-side  is  favourable  for 
cotton,  and  admires  the  glory  of  the  sunsets. 
The  various  arms  and  bays  of  the  lake  are 
carefully  observed.  The  route  is  still  very 
mountainous,  and  painfully  up  and  down. 
October  is  past  before  he  reaches  the  part 
where  the  lake  narrows  and  becomes  what 
the  natives  call  Lake  Liemba.  It  is  slow  and 
weary  work  around  the  southern  section. 
The  heat  is  intense.     "  The  sun  makes  the 


202  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

soil  so  hot  that  the  radiation  is  as  if  it  came 
from  a  furnace.  It  burns  the  feet  of  the 
people  and  knocks  them  up.  Subcutaneous 
inflammation  is  frequent  in  the  legs,  and 
makes  some  of  my  most  hardy  men  useless." 
He  maintains  that  walking  is  better  than 
riding.  Suddenly  he  breaks  off  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  toilsomeness  of  the  journey  to  set 
this  down : 

"  The  spirit  of  Missions  is  the  spirit  of  our 
Master,  the  very  genesis  of  His  religion.  A 
diffusive  philanthropy  is  Christianity  itself. 
It  requires  perpetual  propagation  to  attest 
its  genuineness." 

The  day  after  this  he  is  "ill  and  losing 
much  blood."  Another  disaster  is  that  the 
large  donkey  which  has  borne  him  from  time 
to  time  over  difficult  ground  has  been  badly 
bitten  by  tsetse,  is  now  useless,  and  shortly 
dies.     *'  It  is  a  great  loss  to  me." 

From  the  southern  extremity  of  the  lake 
they  proceeded  almost  due  south,  the  main 
difficulty  being  provided  by  the  Lofu  river, 
over  which  they  built  a  bridge.  A  little 
further  south  they  turned  westward,  evidently 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  203 

making  for  the  north  of  Lake  Bangweolo. 
Many  rivers  are  crossed,  and  more  hilly 
regions  negotiated.  Then  comes  an  entry 
in  the  journal  in  so  shaky  a  hand  as  to  be 
almost  undecipherable.  It  simply  tells  us 
that  he  is  ill  and  camping  "  in  a  deserted 
village."  Yet  there  is  no  halting  on  the 
march.  River  after  river  is  crossed  ;  and  on 
December  i8th  he  sees  once  more  his  old 
friend  the  Kalongosi  or  Kalongwes^  river. 
'*  We  crossed  it  in  small  canoes,  and 
swamped  one  twice,  but  no  one  was  lost." 
They  now  march  south  for  the  lake. 
Christmas  Day — "our  great  day" — is  cold 
and  wet,  but  it  inspires  Livingstone's  thanks 
to  "the  good  Lord  for  the  good  gift  of  His 
Son,  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  He  also  finds 
time  for  some  meditations  on  the  Blue  and 
the  White  Nile.  The  end  of  the  year 
brings  very  heavy  weather,  during  which  no 
observations  can  be  taken.  One  of  the  men 
also  is  taken  critically  ill  and  dies.  They 
plant  four  trees  at  the  corners  of  the  grave. 

As     the     expedition     drew     near     Lake 
Bangweolo,  they  came  upon  a  region  com- 


204  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap.^ 

posed  of  "  spongy  "  morass.  The  men  des- 
cribe it  as  endless  plunging  in  and  out  of 
morasses,  and  the  effect  on  their  strength 
and  spirits  must  be  conceived.  It  was 
terrible  work,  and  Livingstone  was  spent 
with  chronic  dysentery.  On  they  went, 
however,  plunging  through  this  horrible 
country.  Yet  such  alleviations  as  nature 
affords  are  not  forgotten.  Livingstone 
enumerates  all  the  flowers  he  sees :  the 
marigolds  and  the  jonquils,  the  orchids  and 
the  clematis,  the  gladioli  and  the  flowering 
bulbs.  He  rejoices  also  to  distinguish 
balsams  and  "pretty  flowery  aloes,  yellow 
and  red,  in  one  whorl  of  blossoms."  The 
world  is  clearly  not  forsaken  that  has  these 
tokens  of  the  divine  presence. 

A  week  of  priceless  time  was  lost  in  the 
middle  of  January  owing  to  the  misre- 
presentations of  a  chief  called  Chungu ;  and 
all  the  while  they  were  marching  aimlessly 
over  the  desperate  spongy  country.  They 
have  to  get  back  to  their  starting  point,  and 
strike  eastward  to  make  a  circuit  of  the  lake. 
Livingstone  has  to  be  carried  across  many 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  205 

of  the  morasses  and  rivers  on  the  shoulders 
of  one  or  other  of  his  men.  The  march  was 
at  times  almost  impossible.  January  23rd  saw 
them  quite  lost.  No  observations  could  be 
taken,  and  it  was  "rain,  rain,  rain."  Then 
came  January  24th,  and  this  dramatic  entry 
in  the  journal : 

"Carrying  me  across  one  of  the  broad, 
deep,  sedgy  rivers  is  really  a  very  difficult 
task.  One  we  crossed  was  at  least  2,000  feet 
broad.  The  first  part,  the  main  stream,  came 
up  to  Susi's  mouth,  and  wetted  my  seat  and 
legs.  One  held  up  my  pistol  behind,  then  one 
after  another  took  a  turn,  and  when  he  sank 
into  an  elephant's  deep  footprints  he  required 
two  to  lift  him.  .  .  Every  ten  or  twelve  paces 
brought  us  to  a  clear  stream,  flowing  fast  in 
its  own  channel,  while  over  all  a  strong 
current  came  bodily  through  all  the  rushes 
and  aquatic  plants.  Susi  had  the  first  spell ; 
then  Farijala  ;  then  a  tall,  stout,  Arab-looking 
man ;  then  Amoda ;  then  Chanda ;  then  Wad6 
Sal^  ;  and  each  time  I  was  lifted  off  bodily  and 
put  on  another  pair  of  stout,  willing  shoulders, 
and  fifty  yards  put  them  out  of  breath — no 


2o6  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

wonder!"  We  are  not  surprised  to  learn 
that  progress  is  *•  distressingly  slow;  wet, 
wet,  wet,  sloppy  weather  truly,  and  no 
observations."  January  closes  miserably. 
They  have  no  proper  guides.  "It  is  drop, 
drop,  drop,  and  drizzling  from  the  north- 
west." The  country  is  all  froths  and  sponges. 
Livingstone  loses  much  blood,  but  with 
characteristic  optimism  expresses  the  hope 
that  it  is  a  safety-valve,  for  he  has  no  fever. 

The  lack  of  guides  is  serious.  Livingstone 
reckons  they  lost  half  a  month  now  flounder- 
ing about  in  this  sodden,  depressing  country, 
suffering  much  hunger ;  and  it  is  all  due  to 
the  unfriendliness  of  some  and  the  fears  of 
others.  When  guides  were  ultimately 
obtained  progress  was  far  more  speedy  and 
direct ;  but  what  the  fatigue  and  exposure 
have  meant  to  the  sick  man  can  be  best 
gauged  by  the  note  in  the  journal  on 
February  14th,  which  follows  the  record  of 
another  "excessive  hsemorrhagic  discharge" 

"If  the  good  Lord  gives  me  favour,  and 
permits  me  to  finish  my  work  I  shall  thank 
and  bless  Him,  though  it  costs  me  untold  toil, 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  207 

pain  and  travel ;  this  trip  has  made  my  hair 
all  grey." 

Melancholy  reading  as  the  last  month  has 
been,  it  is  perhaps  not  so  heartbreaking  as 
the  next.  It  represents  the  almost  desperate 
exertions  of  a  dying  man  to  get  on  ;  yet  he  is 
thwarted  and  deceived  at  every  turn.  He 
fixes  his  hopes  on  the  chief  Matipa,  and  on 
the  22nd  of  February  sends  Susi  and  Chumah 
to  find  him.  Matipa  appeared  to  be  friendly, 
and  eventually  the  expedition  travels  by 
canoes  towards  his  country.  Then  they  have 
to  cross  flooded  prairie,  and  camp  on  a 
"miserable,  dirty,  fishy  island."  They  arrive 
at  last,  and  Matipa  is  profuse  in  his  promises 
and  plausible  in  his  plans.  Time  was  of  no 
value  to  Matipa.  He  drowned  his  cares  in 
"  pombe "  ;  but  Livingstone  is  in  misery. 
Day  after  day  passes,  and  no  promised 
canoes  arrive  to  carry  the  expedition  west- 
ward. By  the  i8th  of  March  he  is  convinced 
that  Matipa  is  "  acting  the  villain."  The 
next  day  is  his  birthday,  and  sacred  to 
other  thoughts.  "Thanks  to  the  Almighty 
Preserver  of  man  for  sparing  me  thus  far  on 


2o8  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

the  journey  of  life.  Can  I  hope  for  ultimate 
success  ?  So  many  obstacles  have  arisen. 
Let  not  Satan  prevail  over  me,  O  my  good 
Lord  Jesus ! " 

•  -  Never  had  he  been  in  worse  case.  Matipa 
was  false  again  ;  and  Livingstone  took  the 
extreme  step,  for  him,  of  making  a  demonstra- 
tion in  force,  and  firing  a  pistol  through  the 
roof  of  the  chiefs  house — a  movement  which 
resulted  in  Matipa's  flight.  He  returned,  how- 
ever, soon  after  in  a  chastened  frame  of  mind. 
Some  canoes  being  available  at  last,  on 
March  24th  Livingstone  started  with  all  his 
goods,  his  object  being  to  get  across  the 
Chambez6.  It  was  an  awful  journey.  Six 
hours*  punting  brought  them  to  a  little  islet 
without  a  tree,  and  the  rain  descended 
pitilessly.  They  got  what  shelter  they 
could  out  of  an  inverted  canoe,  and  crouched 
under  it.  The  wind  tore  the  tent  and 
damaged  it.  The  loads  were  soaked.  It 
was  bitterly  cold.  '*  A  man  put  my  bed  into 
the  bilge  and  never  said  *  Bail  out,'  so  I  am 
safe  for  a  wet  night,  but  it  turned  out  better 
than  I  expected." 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  209 

**  March  i%th. — Nothing  earthly  will  make 
me  give  up  my  work  in  despair.  I  encourage 
myself  in  the  Lord  my  God  and  go  forward." 

The  next  day  sees  them  across  the 
Chambeze ;  but  progress  is  extremely  slow, 
and  it  is  April  the  5th  before  the  neighbour- 
ing river,  Lobingela,  is  passed.  Meanwhile, 
as  we  learn  from  a  subsequent  entry  in  the 
diary,  his  final  critical  illness  has  begun.  On 
March  31st,  an  artery  began  "bleeding 
profusely."  Yet  he  does  not  dream  of 
resting.  The  whole  country  round  Lake 
Bangweolo  is  a  shallow  sea.  It  is  impossible 
to  say  where  the  rivers  begin  and  end. 
Livingstone's  mode  of  progression  is  being 
punted  along  in  a  canoe.  Further  inland 
there  is  a  marching  party  struggling  along 
parallel  with  the  canoes.  On  April  loth,  he 
sets  down  that  he  is  pale  and  bloodless.  The 
artery  "gives  off  a  copious  stream  and  takes 
away  my  strength.  Oh !  how  I  long  to  be 
permitted  by  the  Over  Power  to  finish  my 
work."  The  17th  of  April  witnesses  another 
calamity,  when  "  a  tremendous  rain  after  dark 
burst  all   our  now  rotten  tents  in  shreds." 


2IO  DR. -LIVINGSTONE  ch.  x 

He  is  now  utterly  weak  and  ill,  fighting  his 
complaint  with  quinine,  and  trying  to  believe 
it  is  no  more  than  fever.  On  the  19th, 
however,  he  confesses  he  is  "excessively 
weak,  and  but  for  the  donkey  could  not 
move  a  hundred  yards."  He  adds  pawkily, 
**  it  is  not  all  pleasure  this  exploration." 

The  diary  is  now  painful  reading,  the 
writing  becomes  very  shaky,  eloquent  of 
weakness  and  pain. 

He  has  service  on  Sunday,  April  20th,  as 
usual. 

The  last  entries  are  quite  short 

"215/  April. — Tried  to  ride  but  was 
forced  to  lie  down,  and  they  carried  me  back 
to  vil.,  exhausted."  The  fact  Is  that  the  old 
hero  insisted  on  being  put  on  his  donkey, 
only  to  fall  to  the  ground.  He  was  carried 
back  to  the  halting-place  on  Chumah's 
shoulders. 

"22nd  April. — Carried  on  kltanda  over 
Buga,  S.W.  2J."  The  men  made  a  rude 
palanquin,  covered  it  with  grass  and  a 
blanket,  and  in  this  way  carried  the  dying 
chief  for  two  hours  and   a  quarter.     They 


ON  THE  LAST  MARCH. 


212  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

were  two  and  a  quarter  hours  of  excruciating 
agony ;  and  it  was  a  relief  to  all  when  a 
village  was  reached  where  a  rude  hut  could 
be  erected. 

The  next  day  was  similar.  They  carried 
him  for  another  hour  and  a  half.  The 
following  day  one  hour's  journey  was  all 
that  he,  in  his  extreme  emaciation,  could 
endure.  He  was  too  weak  now  to  write 
anything  except  the  date.  On  the  25th, 
they  proceeded  for  an  hour,  and  found  them- 
selves among  a  simple,  friendly  people.  The 
trend  of  Livingstone's  thoughts  may  be 
gathered  by  some  questions  he  addressed  to 
the  natives.  He  wanted  to  know  whether 
they  had  ever  heard  of  a  hill  on  which  four 
rivers  had  their  rise.  They  shook  their 
heads,  but  confessed  themselves  no  travellers. 
On  the  following  day  they  still  moved  on ; 
and  Livingstone's  unconquerable  hope 
appeared  in  the  fact  that  he  instructed  Susi 
to  buy  two  large  tusks,  because  he  might 
be  short  of  goods  when  they  got  back  to 
Ujiji,  and  he  could  buy  cloth  of  the  Arabs 
with  them. 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  213 

The  last  entry  in  the  diary,  the  last  words 
he  ever  wrote,  stand  under  the  date  April 
27th,  1873:— 

**  27. — Knocked  up  quite  and  remain — 
recover — sent  to  buy  milch  goats. — We  are 
on  the  banks  of  the  Molilamo." 

He  is  lying  at  Kolunganjovu's  town.  His 
one  hope  is  in  milk,  but  the  search  for  milch 
goats  was  vain.  The  whole  district  had 
been  plundered  by  the  Mazitu.  He  tried  to 
eat  a  little  pounded  corn  but  failed.  The 
28th  was  spent  in  similar  vain  endeavours 
to  obtain  milk.  On  the  29th  the  chief,  who 
said  "everything  should  be  done  for  his 
friend,"  offered  to  escort  the  caravan  to  the 
crossing-place,  and  see  them  provided  with 
canoes.  There  was  an  initial  difficulty. 
Livingstone  could  not  walk  to  the  door  of 
the  hut  to  reach  his  litter.  The  wall  was 
opened,  and  the  sick  man  transferred  from 
his  bed  to  the  litter  in  that  way.  The 
narrative  of  his  devoted  men  is  now  most 
explicit.  It  is  eloquent  alike  of  the  great 
leader's  fortitude  and  their  own  unfailing 
consideration.     We  need  not  linger   on  the 


214  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

details ;  the  agony  of  lifting  him  into  the 
canoe,  and  lifting  him  out ;  the  journey 
through  **  swamps  and  plashes " ;  the 
arrival  at  Chitambo's  village ;  the  delays  in 
building  the  hut  while  he  lay  "under  the 
broad  eaves  of  a  native  hut,"  and  a  soft 
drizzle  of  rain  descended.  At  last  the  shelter 
was  erected  and  banked  round  with  earth ; 
the  bed  was  made,  raised  on  sticks  and 
grass  ;  the  medicine  chest  placed  on  a  large 
box  that  did  duty  for  a  table ;  and  a  fire 
kindled  outside  opposite  the  door.  Just 
inside  the  boy  Majwara  lay  down  and  slept, 
that  he  might  be  at  hand  if  wanted. 

The  imagination  reverently  dwells  on 
every  detail  of  the  scene,  for  the  old  hero 
has  made  his  last  journey,  and  is  about  to 
sleep  his  last  sleep.  While  he  was  lying 
on  his  litter  outside,  and  the  rain  was  falling, 
curious  villagers  had  gathered  round,  each 
man  with  bow  in  hand,  for  they  had  been 
guarding  their  crops.  This  was  the  great 
chief  who  had  come  from  far.  His  fame 
they  knew  somewhat  ;  they  could  not  know 
that   he   was    the   best   friend    Africa   ever 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  215 

had.  They  gazed  respectfully  and  wonder- 
ingly  at  the  thin,  pale,  emaciated  sufferer 
with  the  bloodless  hands  and  lips,  and  the 
face  distorted  with  sharp  throes  of  agony. 
Through  the  falling  rain  they  watched  him ; 
and  in  days  to  come  would  tell  their  children 
that  they  had  seen  Livingstone. 

That  night  passed  quietly  ;  and  when 
Chitambo  called  next  day,  Livingstone, 
with  unfailing  courtesy,  received  him,  though 
he  had  to  beg  the  chief  to  go  away  and 
return  on  the  following  day,  when  he  hoped 
to  feel  stronger.  All  that  morning  he  lay 
suffering,  his  strength  gradually  ebbing. 
In  the  afternoon  he  bade  Susi  bring  him 
his  watch,  and  with  great  effort  he  slowly 
wound  it.  Night  fell  at  last  ;  and  at 
eleven  o'clock  Livingstone  called  Susi. 
There  were  noises  heard.  "Are  our  men 
making  those  noises?"  said  Livingstone. 
Susi  told  him  that  the  villagers  were  scaring 
a  buffalo.  "Is  this  the  Luapula  .-*  "  he 
asked  again  ;  and  Susi  knew  that  his 
master  was  wandering  in  his  mind.  How 
ardently    he    had    desired    to     reach     the 


2i6  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

Luapula  through  those  terrible  weeks  and 
months  on  the  sponges  and  through  the 
floods !  When  Susi  told  him  where  they 
were,  he  asked  again,  "  How  many  days 
to  the  Luapula?"  "I  think  it  is  three 
days,"  said  Susi.  There  was  no  more 
except  the  cry  of  pain,  *'  Oh,  dear,  dear ! " 
Then  he  dozed.  Near  midnight  he  sent 
for  Susi  again.  This  time  Livingstone 
told  him  to  boil  some  water  ;  and,  when 
Susi  had  filled  the  copper  kettle,  he  again 
asked  for  the  medicine  chest.  The  candle 
had  to  be  held  close  to  him,  for  his  eyes 
were  very  dim.  But  he  did  just  succeed 
in  selecting  some  calomel,  which  he  wanted 
to  have  at  his  side  with  a  little  water  in 
a  cup. 

Then  he  said,  very  faintly,  "All  right! 
you  can  go  now." 

These  were  the  last  words  he  was  heard 
to  speak.  It  almost  seemed  as  if  a  higher 
Master  had  said  to  His  tired  servant, 
**  All  right !     You  can  go  now." 

What  happened  after  that  is  known  only 
to  the   One  who  was  with  him  at  the  last 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  217 

The  boy  Majwara  slept  ;  and  while  he 
slept  the  miracle  happened.  For  it  appeared 
miraculous  and  incredible  to  his  men,  who 
had  seen  his  utter  inability  to  move  himself, 
that  he  did  actually  rise  from  off  that  rude 
couch  and  did  kneel  down  at  the  side,  his 
knees  probably  on  the  bare  soil,  and  there 
in  the  attitude  of  prayer  commended  him- 
self to  God, 

"And  his  fair  soul  unto  his  Captain 
Christ" 

When  the  lad  Majwara  awoke  at  4  am. 
and  saw  the  strange  sight  of  his  master 
kneeling  thus,  he  was  afraid,  and  slipped 
out  to  warn  the  others.  Susi  dared  not 
go  in  alone.  He  ran  to  rouse  Chumah, 
Chowpere,  Matthew,  and  Nuanyas^r^.  The 
six  stood  awestruck  at  the  door  of  the 
little  hut.  On  the  box  a  candle  was  burn- 
ing. It  was  just  stuck  there  in  its  own 
wax,  but  it  relieved  the  darkness  ;  and 
they  gazed  at  the  still,  bowed  form.  He 
was  lying,  stretched  forward  across  the  bed, 
in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  his  head  buried 
in  his   hands.      None    seemed    to   dare   to 


21 8  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

approach  him  for  a  while.  Then  Matthew, 
reverently  and  tremblingly,  stretched  out 
his  hand  and  laid  it  on  his  master's  cheek. 
It  was  quite  cold.  David  Livingstone  was 
dead.  It  was  the  morning  of  the  first  of 
May,   1873. 

With  the  death  of  the  hero,  most 
biographies  perforce  end.  In  this  respect 
Livingstone's  story  is  wholly  unique.  The 
most  thrilling  and  sensational  chapter  remains 
to  be  written.  Nothing  more  convincingly 
illustrates  Livingstone's  ascendancy  over  his 
followers  than  the  events  which  followed  his 
death.  It  would  have  been  easy  for  the  men 
to  have  hurried  the  body  into  the  ground, 
divided  the  property  among  themselves,  and 
dispersed  to  their  homes.  Perhaps  the  last 
thing  to  be  expected  was  that  they  would 
shoulder  the  dead  body,  and  carry  it  from  the 
centre  of  Africa,  more  than  a  thousand  miles, 
through  hostile  and  inhospitable  country,  to 
the  ocean.  Yet  this  was  what  fhey  did ; 
while  the  method,  order  and  reference  of 
their  proceedings  would  have  done  honour 
to   the  wisest  and  most  civilised  of  our  race. 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  219 

Let  us  now  see  how  they  faced  the  duty  that 
had  suddenly  come  to  them. 

The  discovery  that  Livingstone  was  dead 
was  made  about  4  a.m.  The  news  was 
carried  round  at  once  to  all  the  men  ;  and  as 
soon  as  day  dawned  they  assembled  for 
conference.  The  dead  man's  possessions 
were  collected,  the  boxes  opened  in  the 
presence  of  all,  and  Jacob  Wainwright  made 
a  careful  and  exact  inventory  on  a  page  of 
Livingstone's  little  metallic  pocket-book,  in 
which  his  own  last  entries  had  been  made. 
The  next  business  was  to  appoint  Susi  and 
Chumah,  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  of 
Livingstone's  followers,  as  leaders  of  the 
expedition.  All  promised  to  obey  their  orders  ; 
and  all  kept  their  word.  Fearing  lest  the 
native  superstitions  in  regard  to  departed 
spirits  might  lead  to  some  outrage  on  the 
dead  body,  or  that  Chitambo  might  demand 
some  ruinous  fine,  they  decided  to  conceal 
for  the  present  the  fact  of  the  death. 
In  this  respect  they  had  misjudged  Chitambo, 
who  soon  learned  what  had  happened,  and 
proved     himself     the    kindest    and     most 


220  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

sympathetic  of  advisers.  All  were  agreed 
that  the  body  of  Livingstone  must  be  carried 
back  to  the  coast. 

The  first  practical  step,  after  making  the  in- 
ventory, was  a  remarkable  one.  Outside 
Chitambo's  village  the  men  erected  a  small  set- 
tlement of  their  own,  fortified  by  a  stockade. 
Here  they  built  a  circular  hut,  open  to  the  sky, 
but  strong  enough  to  resist  any  attack  of  wild 
beasts,  and  in  this  they  laid  the  body  of 
Livingstone.  His  followers  were  stationed 
all  round  like  a  guard  of  honour.  It  happened 
that  Farijala  had  once  been  servant  to  a 
Zanzibar  doctor,  and  knew  the  elementary 
facts  about  a  post-mortem.  With  the  assist- 
ance of  a  Nassick  boy,  Carras,  he  undertook 
to  do  what  was  necessary.  Certain  rites  of 
mourning  having  been  performed,  and 
volleys  fired,  a  screen  was  held  over  these 
men  while  they  did  their  work.  The  heart 
and  viscera  were  removed,  placed  in  a  tin 
box,  and  reverently  buried  four  feet  in  the 
ground,  while  Jacob  Wainwright  read  the 
Burial  Service  from  the  English  Prayer  Book. 
The  body  was  then  dried  in  sun  for  fourteen 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  221 

days.  So  emaciated  was  it  that  there  was 
little  more  than  skin  and  bone.  For  coffin, 
they  stripped  the  bark  off  a  Myonga  tree  "  in 
one  piece " ;  the  corpse  was  carefully 
enveloped  in  calico  and  inserted  in  the  bark 
cylinder.  The  whole  was  sewn  up  in  a  piece 
of  sail-cloth  and  lashed  to  a  pole,  so  that  it 
could  be  carried  on  the  men's  shoulders.  Then 
Jacob  Wain  Wright  carved  Livingstone's  name 
and  the  date  of  his  death  on  the  tree  standing 
near  where  the  body  rested.  Chitambo  was 
charged  to  keep  the  ground  free  from  grass 
lest  bush-fires  should  burn  the  tree.  Finally 
they  erected  two  strong  posts,  with  a  cross 
beam,  and  covered  them  thoroughly  with  tar, 
so  that  the  spot  might  be  definitely  identified. 
They  seem  to  have  forgotten  nothing  that 
could  be  done  to  keep  in  perpetual  memory 
the  place  where  Livingstone  breathed  his  last. 
The  line  of  march  determined  on  was  up 
the  west  coast  of  Lake  Bangweolo  and  across 
the  Luapula  River ;  then  north-eastward  till 
they  struck  the  route  by  which  they  had 
come  from  Unyanyembe.  It  seemed  at 
the  outset  as  if  all  their  hopes  were  to  be 


222  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.x 

frustrated  In  three  days  half  the  ex- 
pedition were  down  with  fever.  Two 
women  died.  Susi  became  critically  ill 
and  could  not  move.  They  were  delayed 
a  whole  month,  and  only  started  again  to 
break  down  once  more.  It  was  not  till 
they  had  crossed  the  great  Luapula  River 
— four  miles  broad — that  things  went  better 
with  them.  Near  where  the  River  Lipo- 
shosi  flows  into  the  lake  at  Chawendes 
village,  the  expedition  was  unfortunately 
brought  into  active  conflict  with  the  chief 
and  his  tribe,  and  a  regular  affray  took  place 
in  which  blood  was  shed  and  many  native 
houses  burned.  It  is  probable  that  a  calmer 
and  stronger  leadership  might  have  averted 
this ;  but  it  was  proof  of  the  determination 
of  the  devoted  band  to  defend  their  precious 
burden  with  their  lives.  After  this,  the 
march  was,  on  the  whole,  a  favourable 
and  peaceful  one.  They  turned  north  to- 
wards Tanganyika,  but,  profiting  by  previ- 
ous experience,  gave  the  lake  itself  a  wide 
berth,  keeping  well  to  the  east,  and  travel- 
ling far   more   easily  than  Livingstone  had 


CARRYING  THE   BODY  TO  THE  SEA. 


323 


224  DR.  LIVINGSTONE'  chap. 

done  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  largely 
avoided  the  mountainous  region.  Every' 
where  the  news  of  Livingstone's  death  had 
preceded  them  ;  and  they  were  made  aware 
that  a  party  of  Englishmen  was  at  Un- 
yanyembe  awaiting  their  arrival.  Jacob 
Wainwright  wrote  down  the  story  as  we 
know  it,  and  Chumah  hurried  on  by  forced 
marches  to  deliver  it  to  the  Englishmen  in 
question,  who  turned  out  to  be  Lieutenant 
Cameron,  Dr.  Dillon,  and  Lieutenant  Mur- 
phy, members  of  a  search  expedition.  To 
them,  on  October  20th,  1873,  Chumah 
brought  the  news,  and  soon  afterwards 
the  gallant  band  arrived  and  delivered  all 
Livingstone's  belongings  intact  to  his 
fellow-countrymen.  Lieutenant  Cameron 
was  decidedly  in  favour  of  burying  the 
body  in  African  soil  ;  he  also  took  the 
liberty  of  appropriating  most  of  Living- 
stone's instruments  to  the  use  of  his  ex- 
pedition. This  latter  act  the  men  were 
powerless  to  resist,  but  in  regard  to  the 
former  they  were  not  to  be  moved.  It  was 
useless  to  argue   with   them  as  to  the  dis- 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  225 

turbed  district  between  Unyanyembe  and 
the  coast.  They  had  made  up  their  minds 
that  the  great  Doctor  must  **  go  home." 
Lieutenant  Murphy  and  Dr.  Dillon  decided 
to  return  to  Zanzibar  with  them,  and  the 
former  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  very 
amicable  companion.  Dr.  Dillon's  tragic 
fate  is  well  known.  Seized  with  fever  on 
the  journey,  he  went  out  of  his  mind  and 
committed  suicide. 

One  further  incident  has  to  be  recorded 
illustrative  of  the  resolution  and  ingenuity  of 
the  members  of  the  expedition.  Near 
Kasekera  matters  developed  threateningly, 
and  the  men  became  convinced  that  there 
would  be  growing  hostility  along  the  route  to 
the  passage  of  a  dead  body.  They  accord- 
ingly resorted  to  a  ruse.  They  unpacked 
the  body,  and  repacked  it  to  look  like  an 
ordinary  bale  of  goods.  Then  they  filled  the 
old  cylinder  with  sticks  and  grasses,  and 
solemnly  despatched  six  men  back  to 
Unyanyembe  to  bury  it!  Needless  to  say 
that  as  soon  as  these  men  got  well  into  the 
jungle   they  disposed   of  their   burden,    and    ^ 


226  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

rejoined  the  main  caravan  by  devious  routes. 
So  well  did  every  man  keep  his  counsel,  that 
it  was  believed  henceforth  that  ordinary 
merchandise  was  being  carried  to  Zanzibar. 
On  February  15th,  1874,  their  sacred  charge 
was  fulfilled,  and  their  precious  burden,  so 
jealously  and  triumphantly  preserved,  was 
handed  over  to  the  possession  of  the  British 
Consul  at  Bagamoio  on  the  coast.  The 
Calcutta  transferred  the  remains  to  Aden, 
and  the  P.  and  O.  steamer  Malwa  carried  them 
thence  to  Southampton,  where  on  April  15th 
a  special  train  was  in  waiting  to  convey  them 
to  London.  That  evening  they  were  deposited 
in  the  rooms  of  the  Geographical  Society  in 
Savile  Row,  and  examined  by  Sir  William 
Fergusson  and  other  medical  gentlemen. 
The  "oblique  fracture"  of  the  arm  which 
had  been  broken  by  the  lion  so  many  years 
before,  and  the  false  joint  that  had  resulted, 
provided  ample  identification  of  the  remains. 
On  Saturday,  April  i8th,  they  were  borne 
through  the  crowded  streets  of  the  capital  to 
Westminster  Abbey  and  deposited  in  the 
gentre  of  the  nave.     Among  the  pall-bearers 


X  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  227 

were  several  who  had  been  closely  identified 
with  the  great  explorer — Mr.  Stanley,  Dr. 
Kirk,  Mr.  Webb,  Mr.  Oswell,  Mr.  Young^ 
and  not  least  Jacob  Wainwright,  the  Nassick 
boy.  In  the  vast  congregation  there  was  no 
nobler,  or  more  striking  figure  than  Living- 
stone's father-in-law,  the  veteran  Dr.  Moffat, 
the  father  of  her  who  "  sleeps  on  Shupanga 
brae,  and  beeks  forenent  the  sun."  No  grave 
in  the  famous  Abbey  is  more  frequently  asked 
for  by  visitors  than  his.  It  makes  its  solemn 
appeal  to  the  world  year  after  year,  for  the 
plain  slab  is  extraordinarily  happy  in  its 
inscription  : — 

Brought  by  faithful  hands 
Over  land  and  sea, 

Here  Rests 

David  Livingstone, 

Missionary,  Traveller,  Philanthropist. 

Born  March  19,  18 13, 

At  Blantyre,  Lanarkshire. 

Died  May  4th,^  1873, 

At  Chitambo's  Village,  Ilala. 

'  There  appears  to  be  a  conflict  of  evidence  as  to  the  date  ol 
Livingstone's  death.  Whilst  the  Diary  gives  the  date  as  the  ist  of 
May,  that  on  the  grave  in  Westminster  Abbey  is  the  4th. 


228  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  x 

For  thirty  years  his  life  was  spent 
in  an  unwearied  effort  to  evangelise 
the   native    races,    to    explore   the 

undiscovered  secrets, 
And  abolish  the   desolating  slave- 
trade  of  Central  Africa,  where,  with 

his  last  words,  he  wrote  : 
"All  I  can  say  in  my  solitude  is, 
may  Heaven's  rich  blessing  come 
down  on  every  one  —  American, 
English,  Turk — who  will  help  to 
heal  the  open  sore  of  the  world." 

Along  the  right  border  of  the  stone  ran 
the  happily-chosen  words : — 

Tantus   amor   veri,  nihil   est  quod 

noscere  malim 

Quam  fluvii   causas, 

per  saecula  tanta  latentes. 

And  along  the  left  border, 

"  Other  sheep  I   have    which   are 

not  of  this  fold,  them  also  I  must 

bring,    and    they   shall    hear    my 

voice." 


''i-r.* 


CHAPTER   XI 

CHARACTERISTICS 

The  life  of  Livingstone  has  been  indiffer- 
ently told  if  the  personality  of  the  man  has 
not  appeared  In  these  pages.  But  the  reader 
will  welcome  a  few  personal  details  that 
could  not  well  find  a  place  in  previous 
chapters.  The  portrait  of  Livingstone  is 
well  known.  It  is  a  strong,  rugged  face, 
rather  heavy  and  severe  In  Its  general  effect, 
with  a  thick  dark  moustache,  a  broad  mouth 
and  full  chin — the  whole  lightened,  however, 
by  the  honest  kindly  eyes  and  the  suggestion 
of  humour  about  the  lips.  When  he  was  a 
young  man  it  would  appear  that  his  hair  was 
almost  black,  but  it  became  lighter  in  colour 
later,  and  the  lock  of  it  In  possession  of  one 
of  his  relatives  is  distinctly  brown.     He  is 

himself   our    authority   for  saying  that   his 

999 


230  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

beard  was  reddish  in  colour ;  and  it  must 
be  remembered  that  in  this  respect  all  our 
pictures  are  at  fault.  Not  one  of  them 
shows  us  a  bearded  African  traveller;  yet, 
except  on  his  visits  to  England,  he  a/ways 
wore  a  beard.  Stanley's  first  impression  was 
of  the  grey-bearded  man  whom  he  found  at 
Ujiji.  Later  on  he  noted  that  his  hair  had 
still  a  "  brownish  colour,"  but  that  his  beard 
and  moustache  were  "very  grey."  Stanley 
also  paid  a  tribute  to  the  brightness  of  his 
eyes,  which  he  says  were  hazel.  They 
appear  to  have  been  grey  with  a  bluish 
tinge.  Livingstone  himself  comments  on  the 
astonishment  of  the  natives  at  his  red  beard 
and  blue  eyes.  From  that  reference  one 
might  imagine  that  he  had  the  appearance 
of  a  Viking  or  Scandinavian  ;  but  the  fact  is 
that  his  eyes  were  really  more  grey  than 
blue,  and  that  his  hair  was  a  very  dark 
brown,  while  his  beard  was  more  distinctively 
Scotch  and  "  sandy." 

In  height  he  always  appeared  quite  short 
when  in  contact  with  tall  companions.  But 
he  was  about  average  height,  say  five  feet 


XI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE'  231 

six  inches  ;  certainly  not  more.  He  had  the 
broad  chest  and  shoulders  of  a  man  specially 
built  to  endure  exceptional  fatigue ;  but 
otherwise  he  always  created  the  impression 
of  a  short  and  spare  man.  That  he  inherited 
an  iron  constitution  is  evident  from  the  mere 
narrative  of  his  travels  and  privations.  One 
of  the  things  that  most  vividly  impressed 
Stanley  was  how  swiftly  the  man  he  found 
so  worn  and  thin  and  haggard  threw  off  the 
burden  of  the  years,  recovered  his  old 
buoyancy  of  spirit  and  physical  efficiency, 
and  took  upon  him  the  appearance  of  one 
who  was  ten  years  younger  than  his  actual 
age. 

He  was  in  some  ways  a  fastidious  person. 
He  was  scrupulously  neat  in  his  manner  of 
dress.  Even  on  his  travels,  when  making 
his  way  through  swamp  and  jungle,  the  one 
luxury  he  most  prized  was  a  change  of 
raiment ;  and  his  torn  clothes  would  be 
mended  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  Stanley 
found  him  "  dressed  in  a  red  shirt,  with  a 
crimson  joho,  with  a  gold  band  round  his 
cap,  an  old  tweed  pair  of  pants,  and  shoes 


232  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

looking  the  worse  for  wear."  The  wonder  is 
he  had  anything  left  that  was  fit  to  be  seen, 
and  the  new  apparel  that  came  to  him  was 
hailed  with  genuine  exclamations  of  delight. 
He  set  great  store  on  an  example  to  the 
natives  of  simplicity  and  neatness.  This 
characteristic  also  comes  out  in  other  ways. 
His  diaries  are  done  with  wonderful  care 
and  precision.  His  handwriting  was  not 
naturally  good,  ,but  it  is  admirably  legible. 
Every  entry  in  his  diary  bears  upon  it  the 
marks  of  method  and  neatness,  while  the 
scientific  observations  are  set  forth  with  a 
clearness  which  won  the  highest  praise  from 
those  best  competent  to  give  it.  Nothing 
was  slurred  over.  There  is  no  sign  of  hurry 
or  of  the  exhaustion  of  patience.  Similarly, 
there  is  a  notable  absence  of  all  embroidery. 
The  language  is  throughout  austerely  plain 
and  truthful.  Everything  is  in  keeping  with 
his  essential  character  of  a  man  who  hated 
the  vulgarity  of  useless  or  tawdry  rhetoric, 
and  held  always  by  the  refinement  of  sim- 
plicity. From  many  anecdotes  related  of 
him  it  is  clear  that  not  only  his  writing  but 


an  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  233 

his  private  and  public  speech  were  affected 
by  his  taste  in  this  respect.  A  letter  is 
extant  in  which  he  counselled  his  children  to 
speak  English  because  it  was  "prettier"  than 
Scotch.  He  was  doubtless  thinking  of  the 
somewhat  coarse  Scotch  accent  prevalent  in 
Glasgow  and  the  neighbourhood,  where  his 
youth  was  spent.  Strangers  who  met  him 
were  uniformly  impressed  by  the  softness 
and  gentleness  of  his  speech.  His  voice 
was  deep  ;  and  if  sometimes  in  public  it  took 
on  a  harsh  sound,  this  was  undoubtedly  due 
to  the  difficulty  of  public  utterance,  which  he 
never  mastered.  His  addresses  to  great 
audiences  in  England  were  always  delivered 
in  a  slow,  hesitating,  and  rather  laboured 
fashion.  For  one  thing,  he  grew  so  accus- 
tomed to  thinking  and  speaking  in  the  native 
languages  of  Africa  that  his  own  tongue 
became  strange  to  him.  But,  apart  from  that, 
he  was  never  a  fluent  speaker  ;  public  address 
was  an  ordeal  to  him,  and  he  had  a  Puritan 
disposition  towards  restraint  and  reserve, 
combined  with  a  scientific  predilection  for 
exact   statement.      The   impression   he   left 


234  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

upon  his  audience,  however,  was  always 
powerful.  Every  one  who  heard  him  testifies 
that  the  man  triumphed  where  the  orator 
was  most  to  seek. 

When  he  once  became  sufficiently  at 
home  with  any  one  to  conquer  his  natural 
reserve,  he  was  excellent  company,  for  he 
had  a  large  fund  of  humour,  and  the  gift  of 
Teufelsdrockian  laughter — "a  laugh  of  the 
whole  man  from  heel  to  head."  He  was 
especially  devoted  to  children.  One  of  my 
correspondents  remembers  him  most  vividly 
with  a  child  on  each  knee  telling  them  lion 
stories  ;  and  another  recalls  his  own  boyhood, 
and  days  of  sickness  in  bed  brightened  by  a 
visit  from  Livingstone,  who  showed  him  the 
marks  of  the  lion's  teeth  in  his  arm,  and 
entertained  him  with  some  of  his  adventures. 
The  atmosphere  that  he  most  detested  was 
the  atmosphere  of  flattery.  There  is  a  fine 
story  about  him  which  illustrates  this.  He 
had  been  invited  out  to  dinner,  and  had 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  a  society  lady  who  was 
injudicious  enough  to  indulge  in  some  very 
highly  coloured  compliments  on  his  achieve- 


XI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  235 

ments.  Suddenly  Livingstone  left  the  table, 
and  was  afterwards  discovered  sitting  in  a 
room  in  the  dark.  He  explained  that  he 
could  not  endure  to  be  praised  to  his  face, 
and  that  he  would  not  sit  and  listen  to  it. 
One  who  knew  him  intimately  told  me  of  a 
lecture  delivered  in  one  of  our  great  northern 
towns.  Two  local  orators  introduced  the 
proceedings  with  speeches  magnifying 
Livingstone's  achievements.  When  he  rose 
to  his  feet  he  had  an  overwhelming  reception, 
but,  turning  straight  to  a  large  map,  he  said 
in  a  singularly  cold,  hard  voice  :  "  If  you 
want  to  know  the  truth  about  the  river 
system  of  Central  Africa,  be  good  enough  to 
look  at  this  map,"  and  plunged  into  his 
subject  without  a  word  of  reference  to  any- 
thing that  had  been  said  about  himself.  He 
was  the  least  vain  and  most  unspoiled  of  any 
man  who  was  ever  lionised  by  the  British 
public  ;  the  secret  of  which  was  undoubtedly 
to  be  found  in  the  humility  and  sincerity  of 
his  Christian  faith  and  character. 

Of  that  faith  something  ought  to  be  said. 
In    his    earliest    letters    which    have    been 


236  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

preserved,  we  can  see  how  strongly  he  was 
influenced  by  forms  of  theology  that  have 
long  since  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  Scrip- 
tural. That  the  heathen  who  had  never 
heard  of  Christ  were  perishing  eternally 
was  a  doctrine  that  inspired  much  mission- 
ary devotion.  These  dogmas,  it  is  clear, 
very  gradually  became  impossible  to  him 
in  view  of  the  actual  facts  of  the  vast 
heathen  world.  But  the  supreme  motive 
never  changed.  In  a  letter  written  just  at 
the  time  of  his  ordination,  he  expresses  his 
sense  of  the  honour  done  to  him  in  being 
accepted  by  Christ  Jesus  as  one  of  His 
witnesses.  The  absolute  surrender  of  his 
own  will  and  mind  to  "  his  fair  Captain 
Christ"  was  the  fact  most  fundamental  to 
Livingstone's  whole  career.  To  the  last, 
he  never  felt  that  he  was  really  in  the  way 
of  duty  unless  he  was  doing  missionary 
work  and  bearing  witness  to  the  lordship 
of  Christ.  Stanley  bore  his  testimony  to 
the  practical  character  of  Livingstone's 
religion.  **  In  him  religion  exhibits  its 
loveliest   features  ;    it  governs  his  conduct 


XI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  237 

not  only  towards  his  servants,  but  towards 
the  natives,  the  bigoted  Mohammedans, 
and  all  who  come  in  contact  with  him." 
In  another  striking  phrase,  he  says  :  "  Re- 
ligion has  tamed  him  and  made  him  a 
Christian  gentleman."  Until  his  physical 
powers  utterly  failed,  he  never  omitted  to 
gather  his  men  around  him  for  evening 
service,  read  and  pray  with  them,  and  add 
some  simple  exhortation. 

He  was  a  man  of  deep  convictions.  Once 
thoroughly  alive  to  some  fact,  he  took  a 
tenacious  grip  of  it,  and  gave  it  a  place  in 
all  his  thinking.  That  was  how  it  came 
to  pass  that  neither  the  politicians  nor  the 
men  of  science  could  prevail  upon  him  to 
leave  the  social  sore  of  Africa  to  others  and 
devote  himself  to  exploration  and  discovery. 
Livingstone's  Puritan  soul,  that  knew  how 
to  put  first  things  in  the  first  place,  realised 
that  the  fact  of  most  moment  in  Africa  was 
not  the  sources  of  the  Nile,  but  the  sources 
of  the  slave  trade.  This  great  social  problem 
had  to  be  attacked  if  religious  and  spiritual 
work    was    not    to    be    negatived.      Much 


238  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

might  be  written  about  his  courage  in 
alienating  those  who  sympathised  with  his 
work  as  an  explorer  and  those  who  might 
have  assisted  him  financially.  He  knew 
quite  well  that  a  price  must  be  paid  by 
any  one  who  was  really  in  earnest  to  destroy 
the  slave  trade.  But  nothing  moved  him. 
Henceforth  it  was  a  case  of  "this  one  thing 
I  do."  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  fact 
of  all  is,  how  early  in  his  life  he  perceived 
that  here  lay  the  path  he  was  to  tread. 
There  lies  before  me  as  I  write  an  old 
brown  and  much  torn  letter  which  must 
have  been  the  first  he  wrote  from  the 
Cape  on  his  arrival  there,  and  is  dated 
March  lo,  1841.  Every  inch  of  the  large 
sheet  is  covered  with  writing,  and  among 
the  last  words  is  a  reference  to  the  resist- 
ance of  certain  of  the  Boers  to  the  policy 
of  emancipation.  Then  follows  this  sen- 
tence :  **  Oh  !  when  shall  the  time  come 
in  which  every  man  that  feels  the  heat  of 
the  sun  shall  be  freed  from  all  other  fetters 
but  bonds  of  love  to  our  Saviour ! "  So 
the    young    missionary   wrote    in    his    first 


XI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  239 

letter  from  Africa  ;  so  he  prayed  and  strove 
for  thirty  laborious  and  weary  years ;  and 
so  he  prays  still  from  his  grave  in  the 
Abbey,  and  few  will  claim  that  that  prayer 
has  been  vainly  uttered  in  the  ear  of  God 
and  man. 

His  unique  influence  over  the  natives  of 
Africa  is  admitted.  It  may  not  be  possible 
wholly  to  analyse  his  secret,  for  such  words 
as  "  personality  "  and  "  magnetism  "  are 
easily  written,  and  do  not  help  us  very 
much.  Two  things  we  may  say  on  this 
subject,  and  leave  it.  Firstly,  he  believed 
in  them ;  and  secondly,  he  did  not  expect 
too  much  of  them.  This  is  no  more  than  to 
say  that  he  entered  into  his  inheritance  by 
means  of  the  two  ancient  and  Scriptural 
keys — faith  and  patience.  He  was  abun- 
dantly rewarded  for  his  faith.  *'  Any  one," 
he  said  once,  "who  lives  long  among  them 
{i.e.,  the  natives)  forgets  that  they  are  black 
and  remembers  only  that  they  are  fellow- 
men."  That  was  certainly  all  that  he 
remembered.  The  stories  of  Sechele,  Se- 
bituane,  Sekeletu,    and   others   would   have 


240  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  chap. 

set  the  crown  on  his  reputation  were  it  not 
that  that  was  reserved  for  the  heroic  band 
who  attended  him  on  the  last  of  his  journeys, 
and  made  themselves  an  everlasting  name 
by  their  final  and  supreme  act  of  devotion. 
But,  if  he  saw  their  splendid  possibilities 
underneath  all  their  degradation,  he  never 
expected  too  much  of  them.  His  scientific 
mind  appreciated  all  that  they  owed  to 
centuries  of  savagery  and  superstition.  He 
was  infinitely  patient  with  them.  He  for- 
gave them  until  seventy  times  seven.  He 
quietly  and  gently  reasoned  with  them 
when  any  other  white  man  would  have  lost 
his  temper  and  resorted  to  force.  He 
could  hardly  be  persuaded  even  to  punish 
the  recreant  with  any  severity.  *'  I  have 
faults  myself,"  he  would  say  simply. 

The  last  word  should  concern  his  single- 
mindedness  and  disinterestedness.  Neither 
as  missionary  nor  as  Government  official  is 
there  any  trail  of  commercialism  over  his  life. 
When  the  bank  in  Bombay  failed,  with  the 
money   he   had   lodged    in    its  keeping,   it 


XI  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  241 

hardly  cost  him  a  pang.  All  his  money  was 
dedicated  to  the  cause  in  which  he  gave  his 
life,  and  his  personal  serenity  was  quite 
independent  of  possessions.  He  refused  to 
bargain  with  the  Government  as  to  terms ; 
and  when  Lord  Palmerston  sent  a  friend  to 
ask  what  he  could  do  for  him,  Livingstone's 
whole  ambitions  were  centred  on  an  inter- 
national arrangement  that  would  sanction  the 
creation  of  settlements  which  could  stand 
between  the  natives  and  the  slavers.  At  no 
single  period  in  his  life  is  there  any  tittle  of 
evidence  that  he  cared  for  money  save  as  it 
might  advance  the  cause  that  was  dearer  to 
him  than  life  itself. 

The  world  still  argues  and  disputes  as  to 
what  it  is  that  constitutes  the  highest  form  of 
greatness.  In  the  common  acceptation  of  the 
term  Livingstone  was  not  a  man  of  genius. 
He  was  not  brilliant ;  he  was  not  strikingly 
original.  What  he  achieved  was  done  by 
the  genius,  falsely  so  called,  of  taking  pains. 
But  this  we  may  surely  say :  If  human 
greatness  consists  not  in  any  natural  endow- 


242  DR.  LIVINGSTONE  ch.  xi 

ment    alone,    whether   of    the    genius    of 

those 

"  Who  seem  not  to  compete  nor  strive, 
Yet  with  the  foremost  aye  arrive  " ; 

or  the  genius  of  industry  in  those  who 
believe  that  "it  is  dogged  as  does  it";  but 
rather  in  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  a 
man's  nature  brought  into  subjection  to  one 
supreme  disinterested  ambition  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  good  of  man,  then  few 
greater  men  have  ever  walked  this  earth 
than  David  Livingstone. 


ae 


INDEX 


AjAWA  TRIBE,  123,  124 
Algoa  Bay,  arrival  at,  21 
Amoda,  199,  205 
Arab  slave  encampments,  144 
Ascendancy  over  followers,  218 

Bakatlas,  work  among,  29 
Bakwains,  54 
Baldwin,  Mr.,  I2I 
Bambarre,  166,  168,  179 
Bangweolo,  Lake,  129,  ISS~^>  209, 

221 
Barotse  Valley,  73  ;  orations  at,  9 1 
Batoka  tribe,  99 
Bechuanaland,  42 
Bemba,  Lake,  129,  155 
Bennett,  Mr.  J.  G.,  jnr.,  telegram 

to  Stanley,  179 
Blantyre,  3  ;  old  mill  ruins  at,  13 
Boers,    complicity    of,    with    slave 

trade,  35 
Bombay,  130,  137,  1 38 
Breakdown  on  journey  to  coast,  222 
British  Association,  lecture  tO|  on 

slavery,  133.  134 
Buga,  210 
Burrup,  Mr.,  125 
Burrup,  Mrs.,  124 
Bushmen,  44 

Caffrb  war,  51 

Cambridge  University,  address  to, 
109 

Cameron,  Lt,  favours   bur)n[ng  in 
African  soil ;  followers  object,  224 
Cape  Town,  66 
Carras,  220 


Carrying  the  body  to  the  sea,  823 

Casembe,  154,  158 

Cecil,  Rev.  Richard,  17,  18,  28 

Chambeze  River,  150,  155,  208,  209 

Chanda,  205 

Chanya  Range,  discovery  of,  167 

Chawendes  Village,  222 

Chiboque,  79-81,  88 

Chisera,  the,  153 

Chitambo,   215,   221 ;    last  arrival 

at,  2 19,  220 
Chitapangwa,  chief,  1 50 
Chitimba,  chief,  153 
Chobe  River,  57 
Choma,  the,  153 
Chonuane,  37,  38,  40 
Chowp«re,  217 
Christmas  Day,  Livingstone's  last, 

203 
Chnmah,  129,139,168,207,210,219 
Chungu,  chief,  causes  delay  in  last 

journey,  204 
Clarendon,  Lord,  despatch  to,  1 55 
Congo,  90,  141 

Damara  Land,  42 

Davis,  Jeff,  133 

Delagoa  Bay,  42 

Dillon,  Dr.,  224  ;  suicide  of,  225 

Dilolo,  Lake,  90 

DugumW,  172-4 

East    Coast    under     Portuguese 

authority,  132 
England,  en  rcnite  to,  130 

Farijala,205  ;  makes  post-mortem, 
220 


345 


246 


INDEX 


Fastings  and  Vigils,  Livingstone  on, 
197 

Fergusson,  Sir  W.,  examines  body, 
226 

Final  illness  begun,  209 

Forerunner,  loss  of,  with  des- 
patches, 87 

Freedom  of  Cities  of  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow,  ic6 

Frere,  Sir  Bartle,  138 

Gabriel,  Mr.,  kindness  of,  85 
Gardner,  Mr.,  199 
••  Goat  Island,"  97 
Government  officials,  limitations  of, 

131 
Gutzlaff,  C,  calls  for  medical  mis- 
sionaries, 10 

Hamaydah,  190 
Helmore,  Mr.,  121 
Ilc^g,  David,  19 
Hughes,  Thomas,  17,  132 
Hunter,  David,  3,  6 

Ilala,  129 

Inscription  on  grave,  227-8 

Johanna  men,  146 
Journey  to  coast,  222 

Kalahari  Desert,  27,  40,  42 

Kalongosi  River,  159,  203 

Kasai,  90 

Kasekera,  225 

Katema,  chief,  78 

Kirk,  Dr.,  120,  227 

Kizinga,  159 

Kolobeng,  38,  40,  45,  46 

Kuruman,  47,  113 

Kwihaha,  189 

Lacerda,  Senhor,  accuses  Living- 
stone of  robbing  Portugal  of  her 
rights,  134 

Lake  Nyassa  116,  129,  138 

Last  birthday,  207 

Last  journey  begun,  200 


Last  march,  start  of  the,  140 

Leeambye,  61 

Letters  that  never  reached  the 
coast,  164 

Libonta,  91 

Liemba,  Lake,  151,  155 

Limpopo  River,  42 

Line  of  march  of  body  to  coast,  221 

Lintipe,  the,  147 

Linyanti,  59,  60,  66,  69,  72,  88, 
91,  96,  115 

Livingstone,  Charles,  ill 

Livingstone,  David,  birth  of,  2,  3  ; 
Blantyre  home,  3  ;  mother,  3-6  ; 
father,  3-4,  death  of,  5  ;  religious 
diflficulties,  7  ;  boyhood,  9  ;  as 
naturalist,  10;  endurance  and  fear- 
lessness, II,  80,  89  ;  employed  in 
factory,  12-14  ;  at  Ongar,  13  ;  at 
Glasgow  University,  14  ;  Licenti- 
ate of  Faculty  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons,  19 ;  ordination,  19 ; 
departure  for  S.  Africa,  19  ;  at 
Kuruman,  23-4,  33 ;  contest 
with  rainmakers,  26  ;  at  Mabotsa, 
29  ;  attacked  by  lion,  30  ;  mar- 
riage, 33  ;  children  of,  33  ;  wife 
and  children  return  [to  England, 
39 ;  astronomy  student,  55 ;  Dutch 
marauders  seek  vengeance  on, 
56-8  ;  object  of  suspicion  at  the 
Cape,  51  ;  farewell  to  wife  and 
children,  52 ;  vows  prevention  of 
slave  traffic,  55  ;  researches  into 
flora  and  fauna,  $4-5  ;  first  taste 
of  malaria,  60  ;  medicine  stolen, 
71  ;  p»eaches  on  journey 
up-country,  77 ;  attacked  by 
fever,  81  ;  rewrites  lost 
rapers,  87  ;  names  the  Victoria 
Falls,  97 ;  carves  initials  on  tree 
at  Victoria  Falls,  98 ;  escapes 
shipwreck,  104  ;  reaches  Dover, 
104 ;  back  home,  106  ;  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  degrees,  106 ; 
father's  death,  106 ;  receives 
medal  of  Roy.  Geogr.  See. ,  106  ; 
entertained      by      distinguished 


INDEX 


247 


people,  107  ;  second  illness,  162 ; 
eighty  days  prisoner  in  a  hut, 
168  ;  narrow  escapes  from  death, 
176  ;  down  with  dysentery,  204  ; 
his  unconquerable  hope,  212  ;  last 
written  words,  213  ;  devotion  of 
his  followers,  213 ;  last  words, 
216 ;  found  dead  on  his  knees, 
217  ;  body  dried  in  the  sun, 
221  ;  body  handed  over  to  the 
Consul  at  Bagamoio,  226  ;  arrival 
of  in  England,  226 ;  personal 
details,  229  et  seq  ;  clear- 
ness of  scientific  observations, 
232 ;  devotion  to  children,  234 ; 
dislike  of  compliments,  234-5 ; 
humility  and  sincerity,  235  ;  first 
letter  from  Africa,  238  ;  single- 
mindedness,  240 

Livingstone,  Mrs.,  anxiety  of,  106  ; 
left  behind  at  Cape  Town,  113; 
death  of,  126 

Loanda,  72,  73,  87-8,  lOI,  X31 

Loangwa  River,  147-8 

Lobingela,  209 

Lofu  River,  202 

London  Hospitals,  Livingstone's 
studies  at,  197 

London  Missionary  Society,  15,  16, 
108 ;  Livingstone's  letter  to,  51  ; 
sends  mission  to  Linyanti,  121 

Lotembwa,  90 

Lualaba  River,  155,  1 64,  1 66,  168, 
170,  172 

Luamo  River,  166 

Luapula  River,  221-2 

Mabotsa,  37 
Mabruki,  199 
Mackenzie,  Bishop,  122,  124,1128, 

139 
Maclear,  Sir  Thomas,  55,  166 
Majwara,  214,  217 
Makololo,  the,  49,  54,  59,  61   72, 

73,  118,  128 
Mamire,  95-6 
Manyuema,  164 
Maubele,  96 


Mataka's  cotmtry,  144 

Matisa,  deceit  of,  207-8 

Mazitu,  the,  152,  213 

Mbame  village,  123 

Mburuma,  chief,  10 1 

Meroe,  Lake,  152-6,  1 70 

Mikindany  Bay,  140 

Milk,  vain  efforts  to  obtain,  in  last 

illness,  213 
Misinje,  the,  145 
Moffat,  Dr.,    10,    21-2,    64,    91, 

104,  113,  227 
Moffat,  Mr.  J.,  at  Makololo,  108 
Moffat,  Mrs.,  10,  91,  113 
Mohamad  Boghajrib,  154,  1 57,  159, 

162,  168 
Molilamo,  213 
Monze,  chief,  I  CO 
Moremi,  59 
Mpende,  chief,  103 
Mtem&e,  guide,  76,  77 
Murchison  Falls,  1 16 
Murchison,  Sir  Roderick,  his  theory 

confirmed  by  Livingstone,  90 
Murphy,  Lieut,  224-5 
Murray,  Mr.,  43 

Nassick,  139 

New    York  Herald^    179 ;   articles 

for,  187  ;  letter  to,  1 93 
Ngami,    Lake,   39,  45,  54;    Mrs. 

Livingstone  first  white  lady  to 

see,  46 
Nsama,  chier,  153 
Nuanyas^r^,  217 
Nyangwe,  172 
Nyassa,  Lake,  I18, 142,  I47, 151, 155 

On  the  last  march,  211 
Orange  River,  42 
Oswell,  Mr.,  43,  47,  49,  227 
Outrages  on  native  tribes,  35 

Pall  bearers,  227 

Palmerston,  Lord,  offers  Consul- 
ship, 108  ;  request  from,  135 

Pearl  at  Zambesi,  1 14;  Living- 
stone leaves  for  Africa  on,  1 1 1 


24^ 


INDEX 


Philip,  Dr.,  25 

Pionter   to    be    handed    back    to 

Government,  128 
Portuguese  half-caste  slave  owners, 

74 

quilimanb,  93,  103,  108 

Rhodesia,  96 

Robert,  Livingstone's  son,  fights 
and  dies  in  Federal  ranks,  133 

Rovuma,  arrival  at  mouth  of  the,  140 

Royal  Geographical  Society  grants 
help,  136 

Ruse  to  get  Livingstone's  body 
through  to  the  coast,  225 

Russell,  Lord,  recalls  Bishop  Mack- 
enzie, 128 

St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  66 

Sambanza,  orator,  75 

Sebituane,  45,  47,  48,  57,  60,  97, 

239 

Sechele,  26,  28,  35,  37,  45,  56,  239 ; 
baptism  of,  42 

Sekeletu,  57,  59,  60-2,  70,  82,  92, 
94.  96,  98,  239 ;  joy  at  Living- 
stone's return,  121 

Sekwebu,  103  ;  death  of,  104 

Sesh^ke,  49,  70 

Shint6,  74  et  seq ;  odd  wardrobe  of, 
75 

Shire,  1 1 7-9.  «3.  I35.  H^ 

Shongwe,  97 

Shupanga,  126 

Slave  dealers  follow  Livingstone, 
120 

Slavery,  fight  against,  by  Living- 
stone, 127 

Slave  trade,  villainies  of,  131 

Stanford  Rivers,  17-8 

Stanley,  H.  M. ,  meets  Livingstone, 
178  ;  arrival  at  Ujiji,  180 ;  brings 
news  of  ;^i,ooo  vote  by  Govern- 
ment, 182 ;  Livingstone's  story 
told  to,  182;  pictures  Living- 
stone, 184 ;  Livingstone's  journal 
committed    to,   187,    precautions 


in  sealing,  187 ;  departure,  189'; 

meets  English  relief  expedition, 

192 ;    first    impressions,    230  et 

seq.  ;  oQ  Livingstone's  religion^ 

23^7 
Steele,  Col.,  43 
Stewart,  Dr.,  124,  126 
Susi,    139,    x68,    171,    177,    190, 

199.  205,  207,  ai5-6,  219,  222, 

224 

Tanganyika,  Lake,  93,  147, 150, 
151,  158,  16^,  183.  201,  222; 
Livingstone's  illness  at,  152 

Taylor,  Dr.  Isaac,  19,  23,  150 

Tette,  19,  103,  115,  122 

Tsetse  fly,  67,  93,  140,  142 

Ujiji,  156-9,  162-7,  i74.  i77.  212 
Universities'  Mission,  122,  130,  14$ 
Unyanyembe,  180,   186,  191,  221, 
224 

Victoria  Falls,  98,  121 

Wad6  Sale,  205 

Wainwright,  Jacob,  makes  in- 
ventory, 219  ;  reads  burial  service, 
220 ;  carves  Livingstone's  name 
and  date  of  death,  221  ;  erects 
cross  at  place  of  death,  221 ; 
pall-bearer,  227 

Wardlaw,  Dr.,  15 

Webb,  Mr.,  134 

Webb,  Mrs.,  134 

Westminster  Abbey,  first  visit  to, 
17  ;  body  laid  in,  226 

Young,  Mr.  James,  135 
Youn^,  Mr.  E.  D.,  starts  for  Africa 
in  the  Search,  146 

Zalanyama  range,  147 
Zambesi  Falls,  97 

Zambesi  River,  9,  49,  54,  61,  66, 
70,  93,  100,  loi,  114, 1 16-7, 122, 

135.  141 
Zanzibar,  93,  167 
Zouga  River,  43  7 


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Social  Christianity  in.  the  Orient :  The  Story 
of  a  Man,  a  Mission  and  a  Movement 
By  JOHN   E.  CLOUGH 

Written  down  for  him  by  his  wife,  Emma  Rauschenbusch  Clough 

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**  The  Christian  world  was  thrilled  over  thirty  years  ago  by  the 
story  of  Dr.  dough's  work.  Now  for  the  first  time  we  have 
opportunity  to  study  his  methods,  to  get  at  the  social,  economic 
and  religious  principles  which  lay  behind  it."  —  W.  H.  Faunce, 
D.D.,  President  of  Brown  University. 

"  Dr.  Clough  was  one  of  the  foimders  of  the  modem  era  in 
missions.  Before  him  the  purpose  largely  had  been  to  produce 
a  western  type  of  Christianity  in  Oriental  lands.  Dr.  Clough 
caught  a  vision  of  the  transforming  of  peoples .  Upon  the  founda- 
tion of  the  crude  village  organization  which  he  found  he  built  a 
Christianity  of  Oriental  type.  His  method  of  baptizing  converts 
from  heathenism,  thousands  at  a  time,  on  credible  profession  of 
faith  in  Christ,  has  profoundly  affected  the  methods  of  Christian- 
ity in  India  and  other  lands.  In  this  book  we  have  a  graphic 
description  of  his  ideas  and  methods  and  experiences."  —  E.  F. 
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"  As  a  life-like  delineation  or  revelation  of  character,  the  book 
seems  to  me  almost  beyond  criticism.  We  see  Dr.  Clough  as 
he  was,  with  all  the  complexity  of  his  extraordinary  character." 
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Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society,  1899-1912. 


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Three  Religious  Leaders  of  Oxford  and 
Their  Movements :  John  WyclifFe,  John 
Wesley,  John  Henry  Newman 

By  S.  PARKES  CADMAN 

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leaders  in  religious  life  and  activity  that  university 
has  yet  given  to  the  world.  "  Many  prophets,  priests 
and  kings,"  writes  Dr.  Cadman,  "have  been  nour- 
ished within  her  borders,  but  none  who  in  significance 
and  contribution  to  the  general  welfare  compare  with 
Wycliffe,  the  real  originator  of  European  Protestant- 
ism; Wesley,  the  Anglican  priest  who  became  the 
founder  of  Methodism  and  one  of  the  makers  of 
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Modern  Religious  Movements  in  India 
By  J.  W.  FARQUHAR 

Literary  Secretary,  National  Council  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  India 
and  Ceylon.    Author  of  "  A  Primer  of  Hinduism,"  "  The  Crown  of  Hinduism  " 

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This  comprehensive  survey  of  present-day  religious  tendencies  in  India 
is  of  tremendous  importance  and  significance  to  every  student  of  religion. 
In  it  are  described  the  various  new  religious  organizations  which,  under  the 
impact  of  the  West,  have  arisen  in  India  during  the  past  century.  The 
Brahma,  Prarthana,  Arya,  and  Deva  Samajes,  the  Ramakrishna  Movement, 
Theosophy,  the  Bharata  Dharma  Mahamandal,  the  Caste  and  the  Sect 
Conferences,  the  Social  Reform  Movement,  and  the  eflforts  of  Muhammc- 
dans,  Parsis,  Jains  and  Sikhs  to  accommodate  their  systems  to  the  needs 
of  modern  times  are  all  dealt  with  in  turn.  Portraits  of  the  leaders  are  in- 
cluded in  the  volume.  The  original  basis  of  this  work  is  the  Hartford- 
Lamson  Lectures  on  the  Religions  of  the  World,  though  in  its  printed  form 
tiie  material  has  been  revised  and  enlarged. 


CONTENTS 

CMAPTKR 

I.  Historical  Outline  of  the  Period. 

II.  Movements  Favouring  Serious  Reform,  1828-1913. 

III.  Reform  Checked  by  Defence  of  the  Old  Faiths,  1870-1913. 

IV.  Full  Defence  of  the  Old  Religions,  1870-1913. 
V.  Religious  Nationalism,  1895-1913. 

VI.    Social  Reform  and  Service,  1828-1913. 
VII.    Significance  of  the  Movements. 
Appendix. 

Glossary  of  Indian  Terms. 
Index. 


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The  Gospel  of  Good  Will  as  Revealed  in 
Contemporary  Christian  Scriptures 

Thb  Lyman  Beechbr  Lbcturbs  at  Yale  University  for  1916 

By  WILLIAM  DeWITT  HYDE 

President  of  Bowdoin  College  and  Author  of  "  The  Five  Great 
Philosophies  of  Life,"  etc. 

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This  book  goes  straight  to  the  heart  of  the  Gk)spel  to  be 
preached  and  practiced  —  the  Gospel  that  Christ  expects  men 
to  be  great  enough  to  make  the  good  of  all  affected  by  their 
action,  the  object  of  their  wills,  as  it  is  the  object  of  the  will  of 
God.  "  The  Christian,"  President  Hyde  writes,  "  is  not  a  *  plas- 
ter saint 'who  holds  'safety  first'  to  be  the  supreme  spiritual 
grace,  but  the  man  who  earns  and  spends  his  money,  controls 
his  appetites,  chooses  peace  or  war  and  does  whatever  his  hand 
finds  to  do  with  an  eye  single  to  the  greatest  good  of  all  con- 
cerned. Sin  is  falling  short  of  this  high  heroic  aim.  ...  To 
the  Christian  every  secular  vocation  is  a  chance  to  express  Good 
Will  and  sacrifice  is  the  price  he  gladly  pays  for  the  privilege. 
.  .  .  Christian  character  and  Christian  virtues  will  come  not  by 
direct  cultivation  but  as  by-products  of  Good  Will  expressed  in 
daily  life.  The  church  is  a  precious  and  sacred  instrument  for 
transforming  men  and  institutions  into  sons  and  servants  of 
Good  Will."  These  extracts  indicate  in  a  measure  the  trend  of 
President  Hyde's  theme  which  he  has  treated  fully  and  in  a 
practical  way  that  will  appeal  to  all  thinkers. 


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